


We're Like Milo and Otis

by tabbytabbytabby



Series: Sterek Week ‘17 [6]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Hale Family, And always will be, Best Friends, Childhood Friends, Emissary in Training Stiles Stilinski, Everyone Is Alive, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Full Shift Werewolves, Getting Together, Good Peter Hale, Good Theo Raeken, Growing Up Together, Jealous Stiles, Love Confessions, M/M, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Mates, Minor Vernon Boyd/Erica Reyes, Misunderstandings, Protective Derek, Sheriff Stilinski's Name is John, Sterek Week 2017, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, True Alpha Derek Hale, sterekalphaemissary, sterekmates, sterekmeetcute, sterekpartners, sterekscenestealer3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-30
Updated: 2017-10-30
Packaged: 2019-01-26 19:13:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 27,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12564296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tabbytabbytabby/pseuds/tabbytabbytabby
Summary: Stiles and Derek meet each other before they can even talk. With Claudia being the Hale family Emissary, Stiles spends most of his time with the Hales. Stiles and Derek are immediately inseparable. Stiles learns early on that his magic reacts to Derek more than anyone else and because of that he is able to shift into a fox and go on adventures with Derek. Those adventures aren't always safe but one thing is certain, they'll always look out for each other.





	We're Like Milo and Otis

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ravenwolf36](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ravenwolf36/gifts).



> This is for [RavenWolf36](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Ravenwolf36) who mentioned wanting a fic of wolf Derek and fox Stiles have all sorts of adventures like Milo and Otis, but with wolf Derek and fox Stiles. I did my best.  
> This was originally supposed to be for Alpha and Emissary Day during Sterek Week, then I realized as I was writing that it fit quite a few days (5 of the 7) which are listed in the tags.  
> This has been beta read to an extent by the lovely [Kacie](http://archiveofourown.org/users/beautyinstarlight) but not since all the parts were finished. So if you see any mistakes please let me know.

**Stiles Birth - 3; Derek 9 months - 4**

Stiles first meets Derek when he's not even an hour old. Derek himself is not even a year yet. Neither one of them remember that moment, of course, but their parents do. Claudia talks of how Stiles cried and cried until Talia had appeared next to them, Derek in her arms. Stiles’ tears had stopped the minute Derek’s hand gripped his. They’d been inseparable ever since.

Claudia Stilinski was the Hale family emissary. A role Stiles would one day fill. For now, Stiles’ days are spent at the Hales, mostly with Derek, while his Mom works with the Hales or just visits. Sometimes the Sheriff comes too on his days off.

It's no surprise to anyone when Stiles’ first word is “Der.” At first, they think he's attempting to say there until Claudia notices Stiles’ tiny fist pointing right at Derek. The Sheriff rolls his eyes but there's a fond smile on his face as he looks at the two boys. Claudia is just happy about Stiles saying his first word to really care what it was.

Stiles and Derek are inseparable, but Stiles has a close relationship with all the Hales. Cora is only a few weeks younger than Stiles so they’re put together a lot, especially when they start school. Laura took a special interest in Stiles the moment she saw him, coming to see him as another brother. When she gets older she starts joking about how maybe he’ll become her brother in law.

Stiles loves being around the Hales. At home, it’s just him, his Mom, and his Dad. So being around all the Hales is a joyful sort of chaos that he finds himself craving when he’s not around them. Stiles’ earliest memories involves the Hales, especially Derek. He barely has any memories that at least one of the Hales aren’t involved in.

They spend all their holidays together, Talia making sure to incorporate Polish traditions into their celebrations for Claudia. Stiles doesn’t remember his first Christmas but thanks to his Mom using her magic on a camera to stop the lens from flaring up there are plenty of pictures.

Stiles favorite one is of him and Derek. He’s sitting on his Mom’s lap, Derek on Talia’s, both of them pulling on the end of a Christmas popper.

*

When Stiles is two he’s still struggling to say his name. No matter how hard he tries and his Mom attempts to get him to learn the word just won’t form properly on his tongue. The closest he ever gets is calling himself Mischief. At 3, Derek doesn’t fare much better.

When Stiles gets sad about not being able to say it Derek just pats his hand, trying to console him, “it’s okay Mischief. I can’t say it either.”

Stiles just beams up at him.

After that Derek takes to calling Stiles Mischief. He doesn’t always do it but it became his own special nickname for Stiles. No one else was allowed to call him that. Laura had tried one time and Derek had growled, flashing his eyes at her until she rolled her eyes and walked off. No one questions it, thinking it’s just a Stiles and Derek thing.

*

Stiles learns about his magic when he’s 3 and complains about wanting one of the cookies his Mom and Talia are baking. The next thing he knows one of his Mom and Talia’s freshly baked cookies is floating to him from the kitchen. Beside him, Derek claps happily and asks if Stiles can get him a cookie as well. Stiles isn’t sure. He doesn’t know _how_ he got the first cookie. Instead, he splits the cookie in two and shares it with Derek. His Mom and Talia find them a few minutes later, both of their faces covered in chocolate, both their parents confused by how they got the cookie.

“How did you get the cookie Stiles?” Claudia asks, bending down in front of her son, wet wipe in hand. Talia does the same with Derek.

“I wanted the cookie and it came to me,” Stiles says.

“It came to you?” Talia asks, glancing over at him, “how did it come to you?”

“It floated!” Derek says, eyes lit up in excitement, “it floated through the air right to us.”

Claudia and Talia share a look before Claudia sighs, “It appears it’s started early.”

“What’s started Mama?” Stiles asks, looking up at his Mom.

“You discovering your magic.”

Stiles eyes widen “I have magic? Like you?”

“Exactly like me,” Claudia says, ruffling her son's hair, “though I didn’t get mine until I was older than you. No matter, we’ll just have to try and find a way to work on your control.”

“And then one day you’ll be an emissary, just like your Mama,” Talia tell him.

Stiles’ eyes widen comically, awe clear on his face, “Wow. You think so?”

“I know so.”

“I’ll be Der’s just like you’re Talia’s?”

Claudia smiles softly, “Hopefully. You too are going to do great things together Stiles.”

“Like Batman and Robin!” Stiles says, excitedly.

“I’m Batman!” Derek says.

“No I am!” Stiles argues, “You don’t even like Batman!”

“But I’m not going to be Robin! He’s just the sidekick.”

“Why don’t you be Superman Derek?” Talia asks, quickly intervening in the argument.

“Then we can both be superheroes!” Stiles grins, “Now we just need capes! Can we get capes Mama?”

“I’m sure we can find you two capes,” Claudia says, laughing at the way Stiles’ eyes light up, “now run along and play.”

A few days later, Claudia shows up at the Hale house with a red and a black cape in her hands. She hands the capes to Stiles and sends him off to find Derek while she and John head into the living room where Peter is sitting.

“Hello Peter,” Claudia says, “is Talia around?”

“She had to run out for a moment,” Peter tells her, “she told me to tell you she’ll be back shortly.”

Claudia nods, her and John taking a seat on the couch, “It’s been awhile since I’ve seen you. How have you been?”

“Good. Really good.”

“He’s met someone,” Talia says, walking into the house, a bag full of groceries in her arms. She passes them off to her husband before taking a seat next to Claudia on the couch, “can’t you tell? He can’t stop smiling.”

“Maybe I’m just happy,” Peter says, trying and failing to keep the wide grin off his face.

“We both know better than that. You’re holding out. Now come on, who is she?”

“If you must know, her name is Brooke. I met her while I was in London a little over a year ago,” Peter tells them, “turns out she’s from Chicago and was visiting London at the same time I was. We wound up spending a lot of time together, traveling across Europe. And well… when we came back to the states I couldn’t let her go so…”

“She’s the reason you’ve been in Chicago this whole time,” Claudia smiles, “does she know?”

“That I’m a werewolf? Yes, she knows. And no she’s not supernatural. Or a hunter. She’s human. She has a friend that’s a werewolf so the whole thing wasn’t that big of a surprise. In fact, she knew for months before I worked up the nerve to tell her.”

“So what made you come back?” Claudia asks.

“Well, I asked Brooke to marry me, and she said yes,” Peter grins.

Talia shoots up out of her seat and runs to hug her brother, “That’s great news! When are you getting married? When do I get to meet her?”

“Soon, I hope. To both. We want to come back here and get married. And hopefully live. Chicago is nice but it’s no place to start a family.”

“Start a family? She’s not…”

Peter shakes his head, “No, she’s not pregnant. We’re just thinking ahead. Plus, all the noise of the city is horrible for werewolf senses. I need some of the peace and quiet of nature.”

Talia moves back towards the couch, giving her brother a fond smile, “Look at you, looking to settle down.”

“Believe me, I’m just as surprised as you are.”

Peter moves back to Beacon Hills a month later, his fiancé along with him. They get a house a few miles away from the Hale house. 6 months later they get married in the Hales backyard. Derek is the ring bearer and Laura the flower girl. Stiles insists on walking down the aisle with Derek, much to everyone’s amusement.

Stiles knows he’ll always remember this day. Having his first slow dance with Derek while Derek hides his face in Stiles’ neck when the cameras start going off around them. Stiles laughs happily, making Derek twirl him like he’s seen in the movies. Derek does it just to hear more of Stiles’ happy laughter. Laura joins them after a while, insisting she get to dance with her two favorite boys.

 

**Stiles 6 - 8; Derek 7 - 9**

Stiles is 6 and Derek 7 when Derek first learns how to fully shift. The first time it happened Derek had been elated and wanted to immediately show Stiles. So he waits a few days until Stiles is over and takes him for a walk in the preserve. They do it all the time, always making sure to stick close to the house in case their parents need them.

Stiles can tell something is up with Derek, the wolf has been practically bouncing beside him since Stiles saw him. He doesn't seem anxious, just excited so Stiles lets it go. They walk a little bit further before Derek stops and turns to face Stiles.

“I want to show you something,” Derek tells him, backing up a few feet and shaking his head when Stiles tries to come closer. “No, stay there. And keep your eyes on me, okay?”

Stiles nods, feeling unsure about what’s about to happen but trusting Derek to not lead him into anything dangerous, at least not without warning him first. “What are you doing?”

Derek shoots him a wide grin, “You’ll see.”

Stiles watches as Derek’s eyes glow yellow and his shift takes over. Only it doesn’t stop there. Within a minute, Derek has transformed into a small black wolf. Stiles gasps at the sight, rushing forward and bending down in front of Derek. He hesitates a moment, wanting to touch but not sure if he’s welcome. Derek makes up his mind for him, licking Stiles right across the face. Stiles laughs, moving his face out of the way. “Gross.”

Stiles watches as Derek turns and runs into the trees before taking off after him. He’s happy Derek has honed in on his ability to fully shift but part of him wishes he was able to join him. That he was able to be that free as he runs through the trees instead of stumbling around on his two legs. Then suddenly his world shifts, a strange sensation taking over his body. He stops, startled as he finds himself suddenly closer to the ground, almost level with Derek. Except he’s not bending down, he’s standing. On four legs. He hesitantly looks down and sees fur covering his body. He lets out a startled sound and looks up to see Derek standing right in front of him, head tilted to the side. Derek leans in close in order to sniff Stiles, as if he’s wanting to make sure it’s really Stiles in front of him. It is. Stiles just isn’t sure _what_ he is right now. Or how he got like this. All he knows is that both he and Derek have shifted and he can join Derek on his run. He makes a noise that sounds like a yip before taking off into the trees, Derek hot on his heels.

Stiles loves the feeling, the way the wind feels whipping through his fur as he runs. The way he feels more in tune and aware of Derek. He's always had a special awareness of Derek but this feels different. Stiles wonders if this is what it's always like for Derek. He'll have to ask him later. They run until they get tired and head back to the Hale house where Talia and Claudia are waiting on the porch.

Stiles sees his Mom's eyes glance from Stiles to Derek worriedly. “I see you've made a new friend Derek, but where's Stiles?”

Derek shifts back, preparing to tell Claudia that Stiles is the fox but his Mom beats him to it. She's staring at Stiles with wide eyes, a hand covering her mouth. “He's here.”

Claudia turns her head to look at her friend, “What? Where?”

“There,” Talia points to Stiles with awe clear on her face, “he’s the fox.”

Claudia’s eyes widen as she turns to look more closely at the fox, “How?”

“I don't know. I think the only person that can help with that is Stiles.”

“But can he change back?” Claudia asks.

“I think he can,” Derek chimes in, “he changed into the fox himself so he should be able to change back.” Derek kneels down in front of Stiles, giving him a small smile, “you need to change back Stiles.”

Stiles looks at Derek, trying to figure out how he's supposed to change back. Closing his eyes he thinks really hard about being human again. He hears a small laugh from Derek and then someone is hugging him. He opens his eyes to see Derek's green ones staring back at him. When he looks down to see he has hands and legs again he grins up at Derek, “I did it!”

Derek grins right back, “Course you did.”

“Mieczysław!” Stiles looks up to see his Mom running down the steps towards him and stands up to meet her, pulling Derek along with him. When Claudia reaches them she scoops Stiles up into her arms, hugging him tightly. “Oh honey. I was worried. How did you manage to change into a fox?”

Stiles shrugs, glancing over at Derek, “I didn’t know I was a fox. I just saw Derek change and kept wishing I could change too so we could run together, then I did.”

“You changed just because you wanted to?” Talia asks, eyeing Stiles curiously, “that's amazing.”

“Is that not normal?”

Claudia laughs, ruffling her son's hair, “No sweetheart. That’s certainly not normal.”

“Then why can I do it?” Stiles asks his Mom.

“Because you're special,” Derek tells him.

Stiles grins at Derek, “Do you think I could do it again?”

“I'm sure you can sweetheart,” his Mom tells him, “but maybe not right now. We need to understand your magic better before you run around using it freely like that.”

Stiles nods, “Okay Mama.”

Claudia watches as Stiles and Derek run inside, their minds already on something else. She knew Stiles would be powerful, more powerful than she is, but she never expected something like this.

“I think I need to talk to Deaton,” Claudia says, looking over at Talia, “I need to understand what's going on with Stiles.”

Talia nods, “I can go with you if you'd like. We can go while the kids are in school.”

Claudia nods, “That would be great, thank you.”

Claudia is disappointed but not surprised when Deaton doesn’t have much to offer them, “Stiles is special. He’s going to be powerful Claudia.”

“I know that,” Claudia tells him, barely suppressing a sigh, “what I don’t know is why he can just change into a fox at will. I’ve never heard of such a thing. At least not from someone that isn’t a were.”

“Nor have I,” Deaton says, “but Stiles is different than anything we’ve seen. You know this. But I don’t think it’s only Stiles himself that caused the change.”

“What do you mean?” Talia asks from her place by the door.

“I think his connection with Derek had something to do with it.”

“His connection with Derek?” Claudia asks, glancing over at Talia before looking back to Deaton, “you mean the fact that Stiles will one day be a Hale emissary? Because _I’m_ a Hale emissary but I can’t fully shift like that.”

Deaton shakes his head, “That might be part of it but Stiles and Derek are connected in ways none of us can even begin to understand. It’s obvious. And it’s only going to get stronger.”

*

When Stiles is 7 and Derek 8 Claudia and Talia decide to use Stiles and Derek’s connection as a way of training both of them. At some point Stiles was going to be the Hale emissary and he needed to be ready. Derek too needed to work on training his senses.

Since Stiles can shift into a fox Claudia suggests a game of hide and seek between the two, with Stiles being the one to hide. Stiles is more than happy to see how many different hiding places he can come up with. Claudia uses her magic to disguise all but Stiles’ scent from Derek, wanting him just to focus on that. Talia agrees that while using all of his senses are important it’s probably better for him to rely on one at a time while he’s learning.

Derek goes to the edge of the tree line, with his pack turned towards the house while Stiles runs and hides. The first place Stiles hides is underneath the stairs. His ears perk up when he hears Derek moving around in the yard before there’s a happy bark and Derek’s peeking his head under the stairs to look at Stiles.

Stiles shoots out, waiting for Derek to walk away again before finding another hiding spot. This time he squeezes his way into an old boot that’s lying around near the porch. It stinks but Stiles hopes that might be to his benefit and the other smell will mask his. It doesn’t if the unimpressed look Derek gives him is anything to go by.

Next Stiles hides in an almost empty bag of sawdust he finds on the side of the house. It takes Derek a little longer to find him this time but he still finds him, tongue lolling out when Stiles starts sneezing and shaking off the dust from his fur.

Stiles looks around quickly, trying to decide where he can hide next when an idea occurs to him. He jumps up onto the porch railing before jumping up on the small roof above the porch, backing away from the edge and laying down.

Stiles hears Derek moving around beneath him, feeling proud of himself when it’s been a few minutes and he hasn’t heard the barking that signifies Derek’s found him. I fact, more time passes and he stops hearing Derek at all. Peeking his head over the edge he doesn’t see Derek roaming around in the yard below. Had he given up?

Stiles wants to be happy at the thought but then he realizes he’s going to have to get down from the roof. Getting up here was the easy part. He just had to jump. But now that he’s up here and realizes how high up he is he’s starting to panic. He doesn’t know how he’s supposed to get down. He could jump, sure, but it’s _high_. What if he breaks something? He might be a fox right now but he’s still human and doesn’t heal that easily.

He does the only thing he can think of and changes back to human and starts yelling for help, “Derek! Mom! Dad! Talia! Somebody!”

Stiles hears a snort and then Derek is walking out into the yard and looking up at Stiles, “I was wondering when you were going to try and get down and realize you didn’t know how.”

“You knew I was up here?” Stiles asks, glaring when Derek nods, “And you _left me?!”_

Derek shrugs, “I was going to come check on you. It’s not like you’ve been up there for hours, only a few minutes.”

Stiles hears a sigh and then his Mom is appearing next to Derek, along with his Dad, Talia, Peter, and Laura. Laura smirks, “You actually hid on the roof?”

“It seemed like a good idea at the time,” Stiles mutters, “now is anyone going to help me down?”

“I’ll go get the ladder,” the Sheriff says, he and Derek’s Dad walking off towards the shed where they keep the ladder.

“I really shouldn’t be surprised this happened,” Claudia tells him.

“You’re certainly living up to your name Mischief,” Derek says, looking far too amused.

John comes back with the ladder shortly after, climbing up while Mr. Hale holds it steady, “Come on son,” he says, offering his hand to Stiles.

Stiles takes it, moving past his Dad and scurrying down the ladder.

“Despite this incident I think Derek’s training went well,” Claudia says, “he was able to find Stiles every time, even in places where he smell should have been masked.”

Talia nods, “That might have something to do with it being Stiles. We should try again with someone other than Stiles.”

“And I can start practicing magic?” Stiles asks, face hopeful.

Claudia smiles, “You already are. But yes, we can work with spells if you want. But only small ones right now.”

Stiles grins, “Awesome.”

“Maybe one day you can learn to track people too,” Derek says, “just in a different way.”

“That’s a very real possibility,” Claudia says, running a hand through her son's hair, “I can do it. But it’s hard and takes a lot of energy. But _you_ my boy are special and already more powerful than I was at your age. Powerful or not, tracking spells are still advanced magic that you’re not ready for.”

“It’s okay Mama,” Stiles says, “I can wait.”

*

Soon Stiles and Derek are running through the woods together whenever possible, both enjoying the feeling of the wind blowing through their fur. Sometimes Peter joins them, leading them further into the preserve than they would normally got by themselves. They go their furthest when Talia joins them, happy to lead them to a stream not too far off where they can happily splash and play.

Stiles’ favorite memory is one when he’s 8 and Cora and Laura have both learned how to shift. The Hales decide to go to their cabin for the weekend, inviting the Stilinski’s along. The woods by the cabin are so much denser and have a different feeling than the familiar ones in the preserve. Stiles and Derek spend hours there, running and chasing each other. Cora and Laura come along until Cora gets tired and Laura has to take her back. Stiles and Derek keep going, until they eventually make their way back, curling up together on the porch swing. Talia smiles when she finds them there later, taking a quick picture before going back inside to prepare dinner knowing the boys will be hungry when they wake up.

Laura and Derek are both black wolves like their mother, but Stiles claims Derek is the prettiest. When Stiles says this after they wake up on the swing Derek grumbles, saying he’s not pretty as he puts on the clothes his Mom left for him, so Stiles rolls his eyes, “Sorry Der, you’re _beautiful_. Is that better?”

“Only slightly,” Derek smiles, “You ready to eat Mischief?”

“Yeah I’m starving,” Stiles says, standing up, “do you think your Mom has dinner going?”

Derek’s silent for a moment before he nods, “Yeah I can hear and smell her cooking. She’s making chili cheese dogs.”

“Ooh my favorite!”

“I thought meatloaf was your favorite Mieczysław?” Claudia says, walking outside onto the porch with the two boys, an amused smile on her face.

“It is. But only when you make it Mama,” Stiles says, “because you make it better than anyone else. Talia makes the best chili cheese dogs because she makes her own chili.”

Claudia runs a hand through Stiles hair fondly, “I see. Well why don’t you and Derek go get cleaned up so you can enjoy her chili. It’s almost done.”

Stiles and Derek look at each other before taking off inside, both Talia and Claudia calling after them not to run.

Claudia watches the two of them go with a fond smile on her face, following Talia back into the cabin, “Life with those two is certainly an adventure.”

“It certainly is,” Talia agrees.

“We’re like Milo and Otis,” Stiles says, walking up beside his Mom, “except Der’s a wolf and I’m a fox.”

“I see, and like Milo and Otis you have your own adventures?” Talia asks from her spot by the stove.

“Yep,” Stiles grins, dragging Derek over to the table.

“As long as those adventures don’t lead you anywhere dangerous,” the Sheriff says, walking into the kitchen.

“Don’t worry Sheriff, I’ll look after Mischief,” Derek says confidently.

“No, we’ll look out for each other,” Stiles says, face serious, “you need someone to look after you too Der.”

Derek nods, as if it all makes perfect sense. Maybe it does. At 8 and 9 years old it seems perfectly reasonable. They’re Stiles and Derek. They go adventures and look out for each other. That’s just what they do.

 

**Stiles 9; Derek 10**

Despite being able to fully shift, Derek has yet to master his beta shift. He tries not to let it bother him, his mother tells him it doesn’t mean anything. He’s able to fully shift so he’ll get there eventually. It’s not until 3 years after he learns to fully shift that his beta shift happens. Stiles comes over with his elbows all cut up, explaining that a classmate pushed him over after school.

Derek doesn’t realize anything has happened until Stiles gasps and reaches a hand up to Derek’s cheek, awe clear on his face, “Wow Der, you did it!”

Derek’s eyes widen as he runs into the bathroom to look at himself in the mirror. Sure enough, his face has shifted. Bringing his hand up, he notices his claws are also out.

“Derek? Honey is everything….?” Talia stops in her tracks in the doorway to the bathroom when she takes in her son's appearance, “you’ve shifted! But how? When?”

“Don’t know,” Derek says around his fangs.

“I told him about what happened after school and then this just happened,” Stiles tells her with a grin.

“I see,” She walks up to her son, pleased smile on her face as she takes his face in her hands, “now the real question is, can you change back?”

Derek isn’t sure, he didn’t mean to change in the first place, so he just shrugs.

“Why don’t you try to do what you do when you fully shift?” Stiles asks, leaning against the doorframe.

Derek tries but when he opens his eyes and looks down at his hands and still sees claws he knows he failed.

He closes his eyes, trying to concentrate on shifting back. His full shift usually comes and goes so easily but this is different. He feels a hand on the back of his neck, grounding him in a way that only Stiles can. Somewhere in the back of his mind he hears his Mom leaving the room.

“I know you can do this Der,” Stiles says, voice soft. Derek closes his eyes, trying to focus on Stiles and control his breathing. He slowly opens his eyes to see Stiles smiling at him, “there are those green eyes. I knew you could do it.”

“You helped,” Derek tells him, voice earnest.

Stiles shrugs, removing his hand from Derek's neck, “It was kinda my fault this happened.”

Derek frowns, “No it wasn't Mischief. Yes, I was upset that someone hurt you, but that's on _them_ not you,” Stiles nods but doesn't say anything causing Derek to sigh, “do your parents know?”

Stiles shakes his head, “No, I patched my arm up myself.”

“Stiles you need to tell them.”

“I don't want them to make a big deal out of it,” Stiles says.

“But it _is_ a big deal! Someone hurt you! They shouldn't get away with it!”

“Derek please…” Stiles starts to beg but stops at Derek's growl.

“You either tell your parents or you tell me who did this to you,” Derek says, voice firm.

“Why so you can go after them and possibly make things worse?”

“So I can make sure everyone knows they can't get away with hurting you,” Derek tells him, “I'm always going to look out for you Stiles.”

Stiles finds himself smiling, “We look out for each other.”

“We do,” Derek puts a hand on the back of Stiles’ neck, the same way Stiles did for him moments before, “now tell me who did this to you.”

“It was Jackson,” Stiles mutters, contempt clear in his voice.

Derek isn't surprised, Jackson has always picked on Stiles. But he's never resorted to violence before. Derek would just have to make sure he thinks twice before doing it again.

*

It’s a few months later, when Stiles is 9 and Derek 10, that they learn that Peter has a daughter. Talia had kept her hidden from Peter for Malia’s protection, knowing that if Malia’s Mom found out about her she would try and kill her. Knowing this, Talia put Malia up for adoption right after she was born and kept a close eye on her ensuring that she was safe. The only other people that know what happened with Malia are Claudia and the Sheriff.

It works out, until Malia’s mother tracks her down, shooting at the car Malia is in with her adoptive family The Sheriff gets the call about the accident but only finds the parents and sister in the car. Immediately recognizing the driver, the Sheriff goes to the Hale house after he leaves the scene, needing to warn Talia about what happened.

“Malia wasn’t in the car,” John tells her, “There’s no way of knowing if she got out and ran or her mother took her or what. We have dogs searching the area to see if they can track her.”

Talia sits down heavily on the couch, “I didn’t even realize Corrine was in town. If I had known… those poor people. I put them in danger.”

“No, you kept Malia safe,” John tells her, “if you hadn’t Corrine would have found her and killed her a long time ago.”

“Maybe,” Talia sighs, “I’m going to have to tell Peter.”

That conversation is a painful one. There’s a lot of yelling about Talia keeping Peter from his daughter, how she should have trusted him to keep his own family safe, how it wasn’t her place to decide what he remembers and doesn’t.

Once the anger has died down, Peter joins Talia on the couch, putting his head in his hands, “We have to find her.”

“We will,” Talia assures him.

“I don’t even know what she looks like.”

Talia stands up, walking over to her bookcase and pulling out a photo album hidden between some history books she knew Peter wouldn’t touch. She flips through the pages until she gets to the one she’s looking for, handing the book over to Peter, “You can go through the whole thing later. For now, this is her.”

Peter handles the book gently, looking at the picture with wide tearful eyes, “That’s my daughter,” When Talia nods, Peter closes his eyes tightly, “help me get her back Talia. You owe me that.”

*

Much to Derek’s displeasure, Stiles decides that they need to insert themselves into the investigation and try and find Malia. Derek tries to argue against it, telling Stiles that the cops and his family are on it but Stiles won’t listen.

“If you don’t want to go, fine. But I’m going, with or without you.”

Which of course means Derek has to go, because he’s definitely not going to let Stiles go traipsing through the woods alone. He still doesn’t see how they’re supposed to find Malia when the adults can’t, but Stiles waves him off, shifting into a fox and taking off into the woods. Derek is tempted not to shift, not wanting the first time he possibly meets his cousin to be when he’s naked but if he wants to keep up with Stiles he has no choice.

They run, both tracking the scent from the shirt Stiles had stolen from his Dad. Der would rather not know _how_ he did it. For a while it leads nowhere, but then Derek catches a scent that has both of them on the alert. They track it to a small cave not far off from the site of the car accident. Derek stills a short distance away from the cave, his senses on high alert. Malia’s scent led them here, which means she is currently here or was here before.

Stiles shuffles closer, knocking his head against Derek’s side. Their heads snap up when they hear a noise from the cave, Stiles starting to move closer. Derek wants to tell him to stop, or to be careful, but that’s impossible right now. He really wishes they had figured out a better way to communicate in these forms.

Derek sticks close to Stiles, wanting to be close in case something happens. As they draw closer they see blue eyes appear in the darkness of the cave as a coyote slowly emerges. Stiles stops, Derek right behind me, his head tilted to the side as he studies the coyote. Derek knows what’s confusing him. The coyote smells like Malia.

She starts snarling at them, stalking closer to Stiles. Derek does the only thing he can think of and snarls back, flashing his eyes at her hoping to make her submit or even turn back. If this is really Malia. It certainly smells like her, at least the scent they found on the shirt Stiles stole. He can see her finding her instincts but after a moment she ducks her head in submission, her whole front bowing to the ground.

Derek hears movement next to him, chancing a glance to his left he sees Stiles has turned back human. He’s not sure if this will make things better or worse. Stiles does have a habit for talking his way out of things so maybe this could work.

“Malia?” Stiles asks, holding his hands up as he slowly starts forward. Derek wants to stop him but he knows any sudden movement could set her off so he stays put, warily watching the interaction between the two, “Malia, if that’s you, you need to change back. You have people that are worried about you and searching for you. I know you’re probably scared and upset and I can’t blame you for that. Just change back and we can get you the help you need.”

Malia doesn’t do anything other than stare at Stiles. Derek doesn’t know if he should feel relieved or not. He hears movement to his right and then sees his Mom and Peter come running towards them. They both stop and stare at the scene before them, clearly confused about finding Stiles and Derek this far away from home. Derek was going to be in so much trouble when this was all over. Derek is tempted to stay fully shifted so he doesn’t have to fully face his Mom yet but he doesn’t changing back, gratefully taking the clothes Stiles hand over to him. He’ll never get over Stiles’ ability to summon his clothes from wherever he left them.

“Derek, Stiles. What are you doing out here?” Talia asks, sounding oddly calm given the situation.

“Well… you see…” Stiles begins, looking from Malia to Talia and Peter before throwing his hands up in a ‘surprise!’ gesture, “We found Malia!”

“That’s a coyote Stiles.”

Derek can tell Stiles is fighting the urge to roll his eyes at his Mom, “Well yeah, but its Malia. It smells like her.”

Peter steps closer before Talia can speak, clearly scenting the air, his eyes widening when he catches Malia’s scent, “He’s right. She’s here. She’s the coyote.”

“I think she’s afraid,” Stiles tells them, “I’m not so sure she meant to shift.”

Talia nods, “The accident probably triggered it. It’s no wonder no one has found her, they’ve been looking for a little girl.”

“Malia,” Peter says, moving closer to the coyote who eyes him warily, “I know you don’t know me but I’m your father.

Malia bears her teeth at Peter’s words, causing him to stop in his tracks.

“She doesn’t know you,” Stiles tells him, “as far as she knows the Tate’s were her family, and yes I know they weren’t blood but they raised her. She just watched them die. Or worse.”

“What could be worse than watching them die?” Derek asks.

“Her eyes are blue aren’t they?” Stiles asks, “We all know how that happens. She hasn’t been out here long enough to hurt anyone, at least we haven’t found any bodies. Which can only mean one thing.”

“Oh my God,” Talia covers her mouth with her hand, staring at the coyote with wide eyes, “the gunfire and the accident must have triggered her shift for the first time.”

“And she didn’t know how to control herself,” Peter sighs, “it’s no wonder she’s stuck like this.”

“So she’s probably not going to be that receptive right now,” Stiles tells them.

“Then how do we get her to change back?” Derek asks.

“You can do it,” Stiles grins at him, “or your Mom. You got her to submit. Maybe you can get her to change back.”

“Mom would probably be better at doing it.”

“But she’s already submitted to you, Derek,” Talia tells him, squeezing his shoulder, “You have a connection now. It could help. You’ll know what to do. Just follow your instincts.”

Derek takes a deep breath, bending down to where he’s level with Malia. He feels Stiles place a hand on his shoulder, which he’s grateful for. He feels his beta shift take over as he flashes his eyes at Malia, trying to convey to her what he wants her to do. When she growls at him Derek growls back, standing his ground. At first nothing happens, but a squeeze on his shoulder makes him keep going.

Malia starts cowering back, a whine escaping her before she starts changing, shifting from a coyote into a 9 year old girl. Talia is quick to take off her coat and cover Malia’s shoulders with it. Malia just stares at them with wide, startled eyes.

“Malia,” Talia says, bending down in front of the girl, “you don’t know me but I’m Talia Hale. I’m your aunt.” Malia just stares blankly at her, causing Talia to glance worriedly over her shoulder at Peter before looking back towards the scared girl, “Malia can you understand what I’m saying,” when Malia nods Talia lets out a relieved breath, “okay good. Now we need to get you out of here. Get you cleaned up and clothed. So I’m going to need you to come with me okay?”

Malia nods again, only a flinching a little when Talia puts an arm around her shoulders and starts leading her away, Peter falling behind them after a moment. Stiles and Derek share a look before Stiles starts laughing, “Dude! I told you we could find her!”

Derek rolls his eyes, “Yeah but now we’re probably going to be grounded forever.”

“You better believe you are,” Talia says, her voice clear even though she’s already a good distance away, “and Stiles’ parents will be hearing all about this. Now come on, we’re talking about this when we get home.”

Sure enough, the Stilinski’s are waiting in the living room when they reach the Hale house, Claudia pulling Stiles in for a tight hug as soon as he walks into the room, “Mieczysław what were you thinking wandering out that far? You could have been seriously hurt?”

“We just wanted to help Mama,” Stiles says, hugging his Mom back, “I’m sorry I worried you.”

Claudia sighs, pulling back from Stiles, “I know you wanted to help but you know you’re not allowed to go out that far by yourselves.”

“But we found her!”

“Yes but you put yourselves at risk in the process,” Talia says, leveling Derek with a stern look, “I know you found Malia, and we’re grateful for that but what you did was very irresponsible. You’re grounded for a week. _And_ during that time you will not see each other outside of school.”

Derek’s eyes widen, “ _But Mom!”_

“No buts,” Talia says, “Maybe if you’re on your best behavior I’ll think about cutting the time off but until then you’ll come straight home after school.”

Stiles and Derek share a look before hugging each other tightly. They know a week isn’t that long but they’ve never been forced to stay apart before. They’ve been practically joined at the hip since they met, only separating for classes and nights when they went to their separate houses to sleep. Sometimes that doesn’t even happen.

Since they’re in separate grades they barely see each other at school except for in the halls and at lunch time. Most of their time together comes after school when they go to one of their houses to hang out. Stiles takes advantage of Derek being a year ahead of him and picks his brain about his schoolwork. Derek acts annoyed but he’s more than happy to help Stiles study. Stiles helps him too, telling Derek it will only help him when it’s his turn to take the glass.

But now they’re not going to have that.

The first day is horrible. Stiles isn’t used to being in a quiet house. He barely lasts an hour trying to study before he starts pacing his room. Then he decides to organize his shelves which is how his Mom finds him when she comes to get him for dinner.

“Stiles,” Claudia says, amusement clear in her voice, “what on Earth are you doing?”

“Organizing my bookshelves,” Stiles tells her.

“I can see that. But why?”

Stiles sighs, his shoulders dropping, “It was too quiet.”

“Well dinner’s ready so you’ll have to pick this up later,” she tells him, ruffling his hair when he walks by her towards the stairs, “it’s only for a week honey.”

“I know. But I miss him already.”

The next few days are much the same. Both Stiles and Derek finding meaningless tasks to occupy themselves. By the fourth day, Talia and Claudia are at their wits end. Derek started trying to organize the books in their library, causing a bunch of books to fall on top of him when he tried to reach for ones that were too high up. Stiles had tried to mop the floor, only to forget he mopped it not even 5 minutes later when he ran into the room and slipped, almost hitting his head on the counter. The two women decide that for the safety of their sons and their own sanity that they’ll cut the separation short, allowing the two boys to see each other after school again.

Stiles glances out the window confused when he realizes they’re not heading towards their house, “I think you’re going the wrong way Mama.”

Claudia smiles, “I’m going where I need to go sweetheart.”

“But home is the other way. We’re heading towards the preserve,” Stiles’ eyes widen “are we going to the Hales?”

Claudia’s lips twitch at Stiles’ excitement, “We are. Talia and I decided to cut your grounding short. _But_ you and Derek are not to run off like that again, do you understand? If you shift and go into the woods you’re not to go alone, at least not for now.”

“Yes Mama.”

The car has barely stopped in front of the Hale house before Stiles is bolting out of the care and up the stairs towards the house. Derek is already outside on the porch waiting, happily pulling Stiles in for a hug when the other boy reaches him.

“I missed you,” Derek tells him, breathing in Stiles’ scent.

“I missed you too.” Stiles replies, squeezing Derek tightly before pulling back, “now let’s go up to your room.”

Claudia follows the two boys inside, meeting Talia at the foot of the stairs, “Do you really think they’re going to stay out of trouble?”

“Those two?” Talia laughs, “Not in a million years.”

 

**Stiles 10; Derek 11**

Derek knows it’s a bad idea, but he follows Stiles anyway as the fox runs along through the preserve. They’re further out than they’re supposed to go by themselves. But Stiles had insisted they’d be fine and back home before anyone noticed. They were just going to play a game of hide and seek. Derek had reluctantly agreed. Now he’s sitting behind a tree, trying not to listen to where Stiles is running off to.

Once enough time has passed Derek sets off, scenting the air trying to catch Stiles’ smell. Once he has it he follows it down to the lake, instantly feeling worried when he doesn’t catch scent of Stiles anywhere. Then he notices the box by the dock and peers inside. Derek huffs when he sees the fox curled up in the box.

Stiles hops around excitedly when he notices Derek, moving to get out of the box which instead pushes the box away from the dock. Derek starts barking, trying to tell Stiles to get out of the box and come back. When that doesn’t happen Derek sets off down the bank trying to keep up with Stiles. Stiles, for his part, isn’t all that worried. It’s kind of fun going downstream like this. He thinks Derek needs to try it. He notices Derek standing on the bridge that he’s approaching and tries to communicate that he should jump in. Making a decision, Derek jumps off the bridge and into the water, trying to catch up with Stiles as the river takes him further downstream. When he realizes that’s not going to happen he gets out of the water and follows the river on land instead.

Stiles isn’t really worried until he loses sight of Derek. Then he hears something in the bushes, it’s a bear. He tries ducking down low in the box so the bear doesn’t see him but the box starts drifting right towards the bear. The bear gets up onto its hind legs as the box goes by. Luckily the current pushes Stiles quickly onwards. “Close call,” Stiles thinks, poking his head out. Which was unfortunately much too soon because the bear saw what was in the box.

The bear is pushing at the box when Derek catches up, surveying the scene before jumping in and swimming towards Stiles and the bear. He swats at the bear with his paws trying to fight the creature off and keep it away from Stiles. The bear is bigger but Derek is a werewolf who is determined to protect his friend. Eventually he swims away, coming up with a more sensible plan. He runs up the river bank, leading the bear away from Stiles. It works, the bear follows him and forgets all about the fox in the floating box.

Stiles keeps floating along, but begins to grow concerned because the river is beginning to move faster and faster. Stiles starts yipping and freaking out when he realizes he’s heading towards a series of small waterfalls. The first one is rough, almost flipping the box over. The water only picks up speed and as Stiles looks ahead he sees he’s heading towards an even bigger waterfall. Before he can truly panic the box goes over it, somehow staying upright on the way down, his moving around once he reaches the bottom is the only thing that stops it from tipping over. Stiles is alright, except for being wet. And now he’s lost track of Derek and is drifting farther and farther from home.

By the time the moon rises the river has carried Stiles deep into a forest, one that looks very different from the preserve. He has no idea where he is. He’s alone, tired, hungry, and scared. He knows his Mom and Dad must be worried sick about him. The thought fills him with guilt. He never should have talked Derek into wandering so far away from home without Laura or Talia.

Now and then he sees some eyes flashing from the trees. He keeps hoping they’ll be Derek’s. He knows the hoots he hears are owls, but knowing about the supernatural makes him wary about the cries and growls he hears. His trip down the river certainly isn’t fun anymore. It has turned into something lonely and frightening. He begins to wish he’d never jumped into this box. He just wants to be home with his Mom and Dad and Derek and the rest of the Hales. Sleep seems impossible as he drifts on through the darkness, hoping to find the morning waiting just around the bend. Hoping Derek will find him. Or Talia. Even Peter. Surely they could sniff him out.

Derek’s relieved when morning comes. He hasn’t given up his chase, not by a long shot. He keeps running along the riverbank in hot pursuit. To keep his spirits up he sings a wolf marching son is Mom taught him, “Here comes the wolf, strong and brave. Here comes the wolf, your life he...oof!” When he falls into a hole he decides to skip the whole singing thing and carries on.  Derek follows the river until it comes to forbidding place. A place like none he’d ever seen before, the Deadwood Swamp. A place where skeleton trees grow with no leaves on their branches and no creature could live. Except for the dreaded Deadwood birds, and one of them was perching on a familiar wooden box. Derek runs towards it, wading through the thick, disgusting mud. Needing to be sure Stiles is alright. Derek chases the bird off, preparing himself as he looks into the box, only to find a solitary black feather and nothing else.

Stiles is nowhere near the Deadwood Swamp. After his box gets stuck there he runs, only to find himself in a burning valley. The ground is hot and the smoke makes his eyes sting. He’s tempted to change back to human form but something tells him he’s safer as a fox right now. His senses are better and he can find more easily if he needs to. Still, he really needs to get out of this place.

Stiles runs through gnarled trees until he comes to an open meadow where he spots a fox. Stiles approaches the fox, keeping hidden in the grass. He’s curious, never having seen an actual fox in person before. Stiles follows the fox, making sure to keep silent and stay out of sight. He watches as the fox begins digging, uncovering what looks like a muskrat. Stiles feels his mouth involuntarily watering, causing him to cringe. He’s stayed a fox too long if he’s craving poor dead animals he wouldn’t normally consider eating. He really needs to find his way home or to a phone so he can call his parents.

Derek travels through the wetlands to a beach full of clam hole. He hasn’t been able to catch Stiles’ scent, the water having washed it away. To his dismay the clouds overhead are getting darker and darker and a chilly wind is whipping across the area. It would rain soon, which would make it even harder to find Stiles. Sighing, Derek sits on a rock trying to decide what he should do next. He just needs to find Stiles and get home.

Stiles is several miles from the beach, caught in the storm. He’s wet and hungry and feeling lonely without Derek here. This whole thing would be so much easier with the wolf beside him. Derek would know what to do. He’s always be the voice of reason. He’d be able to find a way back home. Stiles is safe at least. He just hopes Derek is too.

Unfortunately, Derek is not so lucky. The tide comes in so fast that the rock Derek's’ sitting on gets completely surrounded by water. Soon his dry rock is going to be under water. The beach is far and the water is rough. Derek knows he’ll never be able to swim to shore, and the water keeps growing higher. When the water gets up to his paws he knows he’ll have to try to swim. He doesn’t like it but it’s the only way. It’s the only way off this rock and back towards finding Stiles. Taking a deep breath Derek jumps into the cold water and starts paddling back to shore. The water is rough but he makes it. Not he just needs to make it to Stiles.

Under a fresh, bright sky Derek resumes his search for Stiles. Derek gets excited when he sees a fox swimming in the water. That quickly goes away when he realizes it’s just a normal fox and not Stiles. The fox eyes him warily so Derek turns around and sets off again.

Far away, Stiles stumbles across a set of railroad tracks. He feels relieved. If he follows the tracks they’ll surely bring him to a town. He has to jump off once when a train goes by, following alongside the tracks instead. The railroad leads Stiles to a meadow of cotton blossoms. After his journey Stiles is tired. He watches a deer from a safe distance, not wanting to scare her. He follows her to a forest pool, waiting until she’s disappeared before approaching. His Mom has always lectured him on drinking clean water and staying away from things he’s not sure of but he’s _so_ thirsty. A few drinks won’t hurt. Feeling the day start to catch up with him Stiles finds a soft, mossy spot on the forest floor to rest. He’s asleep within moments.

Derek knows he has to be on the right track. He’s trailed Stiles from the Deadwood Swamp to the fox’s meadow where he finally caught Stiles’ scent. If he just keeps going maybe he’ll finally find his best friend that he misses so much. The relief dissipates after a while when night starts coming and he still hasn’t found Stiles. Derek decides it’s probably best that he gets some sleep. Maybe he’ll have better luck tomorrow after he’s gotten some much needed rest.

Stiles has found himself in a tree, watching as the sun sets and wondering what sorts of creatures will make their way out after dark. At some point Stiles falls asleep in an empty nest. When he sleeps he dreams about being back in Beacon Hills and seeing his friends and family. He dreams about Derek and how they’d always play together, how they always looked out for each other. Even in his dream he wonders if he’ll get back there, back to Derek.

Stiles travels all the next day before arriving at a brook. He watches as a bear and a raccoon fight over a fish, staying back as he remembers the bear he encountered a few days before. Unfortunately, the bear catches sight of Stiles and comes after him. Stiles climbs up onto a small branch, trying to get away from the bear. The bear follows him but the branch is too small and when Stiles swats at him the bear falls before running off. Stiles lets out a relieved breath. He’s safe, at least for now.

He wanders on, fighting off yet another bear in a shack he tries to seek shelter in. After that he tries to keep up high, only to encounter a snake. While trying to fight the snake off Stiles falls out of the tree and into a pit below.

Seeing there’s no possible way to get out as a fox Stiles changes back to human and starts shouting, “Hello! Help! Is anyone out there! Someone help me! Please! I’m trapped!”

Derek’s ears perk up when he hears the voice and then he’s shifting and running towards the voice he’s been longing to hear. Peering into the hole, Derek just has to laugh, “Leave it to you to get stuck I a hole.”

“Derek,” Stiles breathes, feeling relief settle in at the sight of his best friend, “you found me.”

“Of course I did,” Derek says, “now let’s get you out of here.”

Stiles nods, reaching up and grabbing Derek’s hand when he leans down into the hole. Derek uses all his strength to hoist Stiles up out of the hole. When they’re both on their feet Derek reels Stiles in, hugging him rightly and burying his face in his neck, “I’m glad you’re alright.”

Stiles pats Derek’s back, only realizing just how naked Derek his when his hand slaps bare skin, “Uhh Der, you’re kind of naked.”

Derek rolls his eyes, pulling back from Stiles, “Of course I am. You know I don’t change back with my clothes on. You always get them to me.”

“I can try to get them back but they might be too far away,” Stiles says, “or maybe…”

Stiles closes his eyes, picturing what he wants, opening them when he hears a gasp from Derek. Stiles grins when he sees Derek holding pants, a shirt, and shoes.

“These aren’t mine,” Derek tells him, examining the clothes before shrugging and starting to put them on.

“Better than nothing,” Stiles tells him with a shrug, “now hurry up. I want out of here. You have no idea what I’ve been through. Three bears, Der, _three!_ And a snake!”

Derek snorts, quickly tying his shoes, ignoring the way his heart clenches at the thought of Stiles having to go through all that alone, “Yet here you are.”

Stiles grins, “Yeah. I’m really happy to see you.”

“You’re just glad because I pulled you out of that hole.”

“No. I mean yes I am. But I missed you. I was starting to wonder if I’d ever see you or my parents again.”

Derek squeezes his shoulder, “I wasn’t going to let that happen. Neither would your parents or mine. Someone would have found you if I didn’t.”

“I’m glad it was you,” Stiles tells him, “my Mom is going to be furious when we get back so at least now I have time to prepare.”

Derek grimaces, “It almost makes me not want to go home.”

“But we have to,” Stiles says, taking his hand and pulling him along, “they’re probably worried. We can’t let them worry anymore. I think if we find the river we should be able to follow it back home.”

“I think that’s probably our best bet,” Derek agrees, “let’s go home.”

Their parents are understandably furious when they get home, Talia out of the house and running down the steps of the porch as soon as she hears them approaching. Claudia is hot on her heels, pulling Stiles into her arms as soon as she reaches him, “Mieczysław! Where have you been? You've been gone for three days! We’ve been so worried!”

Stiles hugs her back tightly, feeling guilty when he realizes she’s crying, “I’m sorry Mama. I didn’t mean to worry you. I was playing hide and seek with Derek and then got swept away in the current.”

Claudia pulls back with wide eyes, “You… you got swept away? To where?”

“I don’t know. Somewhere far.”

“And you, Derek?” Talia asks her son, “Where have you been?”

“I went after him,” Derek tells them, “I was trying to see if I could get him and when I realized I couldn’t I was already far away and knew he’d be scared so I kept going until I found him.”

“This is why we told you not to go out too far on your own. Do you not realize how much danger you were in? What’s out there…”

“I do,” Stiles says, “you know how we said we were like Milo and Otis? Well, after what happened I don’t think I want to be anymore.”

Claudia sighs, closing her eyes. She's been worried and wants to know what her son has been through. But she knows there's a time and a place. Right now she's just happy to have him back and safe, “I don’t want to know what happened, do I?”

“Probably not. At least not right now.”

“Not right now. Okay. Fine. I need to call your father and let him know your home safe. We’re all going to have a serious talk about this. But for now, you both must be hungry and tired.”

“And in serious need of a shower,” Talia says, wrinkling her nose, “both of you can go shower. Stiles can take the one downstairs and you can take the one upstairs Derek. I’ll make you something to eat while you’re getting cleaned up.”

Stiles and Derek nod, slowly making their way into the house. They know there are going to be serious consequences for what happened. For now though, they’re both just happy to be home, safe, and together again with their families.

 

**Stiles 14; Derek 15**

Stiles knows there's something wrong with Kate the moment he meets her. It's in her predatory gaze, the way she looks at Derek that has alarms going off in his head. No adult woman should look at a minor the way Kate looks at Derek. As if that's not bad enough, she _touches_ him, her hand stroking his arm in a way that's far too familiar. She's flirting, clearly trying to get close to Derek. But Derek, he just glances at Stiles with wide eyes before putting some distance between him and Kate.

Kate keeps pushing, making flirty comments towards Derek, calling him handsome. Stiles finally has enough, using a bit of magic to push her back as he steps between them, “He said no.”

Kate glances his way, amusement clear in her eyes, “I think you should stay out of this sweetie. This is between me and Derek. Run along now,” she does a shooing gesture at him.

Before Stiles can say anything Derek speaks up, growl clear in his voice, “He's not going anywhere. If anyone should leave, it's _you_.”

“I love when they play hard to get,” Kate smirks.

“I'm not playing hard to get. I mean it, back off.”

“You either do as he says or I'll call my Dad,” Stiles says, “ _the Sheriff._ ”

Kate's eyes widen momentarily, before she glares at the two teenagers, stomping off in a huff, “Your loss.”

*

A few days later Stiles notices Kate hanging out in the preserve. Stiles is riding his bike over to grab a book from Talia. Stiles hears voices nearby, Kate's instantly recognizable. Frowning, Stiles shifts into a fox before creeping his way closer. This way, if Stiles gets noticed no one will know it's him. He hides behind a nearby push, focusing his hearing.

“Remember, we’ll trap them in the basement,” Kate says, “I already lined the house with mountain ash when they were out. I just have to seal it. They'll have no way out.”

“Then no more werewolves,” One of the men laughs.

“At least not of the Hale variety.”

Stiles doesn't even think, he takes off running towards the Hale house. His fox legs and his determination carrying him much faster than his human legs could. When he gets to the house he rushes inside, starting the Hales with his appearance. Stiles feels even more panicked when he sees almost everyone is in the house. Derek’s parents, Peter and his family, and Cora are all here. He needs to get them out of here _now_.

Talia is out of the seat in an instant, approaching the panting fox, “Stiles? Honey? What is it?”

Stiles quickly transforms back into a human, still trying to catch his breath as he addresses the Hales, “You… need...to get... out of...here.”

Robert joins his wife, eying Stiles in confusion, “What? Why?”

“Kate Argent. I heard her talking. She’s planning to lock you all inside and light the place on fire. You need to get out, _now!_ ”

“Stiles…” Talia says, her tone placating, “are you sure? We have a truce with the Argents.”

“No, you have a truce with Chris Argent,” Stiles says, “Kate’s different. She hates werewolves. She… look she came on to Derek. I think she was trying to get information out of him. And when she didn’t get it she decided to act on her own. I can explain it later. I just need you to get out of the house _please_.”

Seeing how distraught Stiles obviously is Talia ushers her family outside, leaving Stiles to look around the living room. He figures he has time to gather a few things if he needs to. Even if Kate were to activate the mountain ash with him inside he’d be able to get out.

Stiles spots Derek’s favorite book on the bottom shelf of the bookcase and goes for it, stupidly turning his back on the room. The next thing he knows there is a sharp pain in his head and he’s crumpling to the ground. Before he can react someone is hoisting him to his feet and handcuffing him to the staircase. Stiles’ vision is blurry but he doesn’t need to see to know who it is.

“You won’t get away with this,” Stiles mutters, reaching for his magic but being unable to access it.

“Sure I will,” Kate says, grinning face coming into focus, “you took what I wanted from me. The opportunity to rid this world of those disgusting creatures. But I can still make them suffer. Tell me, how do you think Derek will feel when he discovers your burned body? Will he cry? Oh I hope he cries. That’s something I’d love to see.”

Stiles spits in her face, enjoying the way she flinches back in disgust, “You’re a fucking psychopath. I told the Hales what you were planning. They’ll tell my Dad and he’ll come for you.”

“Oh honey, I’ll be long gone by then. But if you need to think they’ll avenge your death, by all means, go ahead. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a plane to catch.”

Stiles watches in horror as she takes a lighter out of her pocket and walks out of the room, dropping something on the floor by the kitchen on the way out, the key to the handcuffs. He’s not sure where she’s starting it. Not sure why she’d risk setting it so far away from him. Then he remembers the mountain ash.

Stiles is sure he’s going to die. He knows his chances aren’t good. He’s handcuffed to the bannister, the key she dropped clear across the room taunting him. If he could just use his magic to get the key to him. But he can’t. He reaches for his magic but he’s blocked. He knew if it were someone else trapped here, if it were Derek or his parents, he’d have no trouble summoning the key. But right now he just can’t do it. He’s mind is running too rapidly to concentrate.

He’s truly trapped with no way out. The mountain ash lining the house ensures that none of the wolves can get in to him. Unfortunately for him the wolves are the only one’s present, his parents and the firefighter’s miles away, if they’re even on their way yet. The Hales don’t seem to realize he’s missing yet, and he’s a little bit grateful. He doesn’t think he could handle their panic. _Derek’s panic_. Stiles is grateful Derek’s not around. He was out with Laura and Cora when Stiles had come back to the house.

Stiles takes a deep breath, trying to ignore the panic building inside of him as he notices the smoke starting to drift into the living room from the kitchen. It won’t be long now. He just hopes the smoke does him in before the flames do.

He tries not to think about it, tries to think of anything else. His mind keeps drifting to Derek and his family, and that makes it worse. Knowing that someone is going to discover his body. The thought of Derek or his Mom finding his burned body makes him choke back a sob. This isn’t… he wasn’t supposed to go out like this. He’s only 14. He’d had plans, hopes, and dreams. Go to college, travel the world with Derek, grow old.

“I don’t want to die,” the words escape him on a sob before he even realizes it.

“Stiles!” Stiles’ head turns towards the open doorway when he hears Derek’s voice, “Mom! What’s going on? Where’s Stiles?”

Stiles heart clenches. Of course Derek would show up before it’s all over. Stiles hears the rest of the Hales start to murmur their confusion, finally noticing Stiles isn’t around.

“He warned us about the fire,” Talia tells him, “we thought he was right behind us.”

“You thought?” Derek practically growls, “If he’s not here then where is he?”

“I don’t know, son.”

Stiles closes his eyes, taking a deep breath through his nose before his mouth starts moving before he can stop it, “Derek! Derek! I’m in here!”

Derek is at the doorway in an instant, staring in at Stiles with panicked eyes as he tries and fails to enter the house, “Stiles! What…? I can’t get in.”

Stiles smiles sadly at him, “Mountain ash. Kate wanted to be sure,” Stiles raises his handcuffed arm slightly to prove his point, “you should go Der, you don’t need to see this.”

Derek growls, his eyes flashing yellow, “Like hell I’m going to leave you.”

“Derek please,” Stiles says, unashamed by the tears that are now falling freely from his eyes, “I don’t want you to remember me like this. You just go, okay? And… tell my parents I love them. Derek I…”

“Don’t. Don’t you dare even think about saying goodbye to me. You’re not dying Stiles.”

Stiles wants to argue but he can’t get the words out. The smoke is starting to reach him, making his eyes water and it hard to breathe. He quickly covers his nose and mouth, trying not to inhale too much of the smoke. He can’t bring himself to give up with Derek standing right there. Derek starts pushing against the mountain ash barrier, determination clear on his face. He’s shifted now, growling low in his throat as he pushes against the barrier. Stiles just stares, crying harder at how clearly panicked Derek is.

Then suddenly the atmosphere changes, Derek’s moving forward, growls growing louder and his eyes… Stiles feels his breath catch because his eyes are changing. They’re no longer yellow but _red_. The moment Stiles realizes this Derek is in the house, running up to Stiles and practically ripping the bannister off in order to free Stiles. Stiles stumbles a bit before Derek hoists him up into his arms and runs out of the house with him close to his chest.

Despite his panic, Derek’s thoughts are clear. His only thought being to save Stiles. To protect what’s his. He buries his face in Stiles’ neck, whining at how the smell of smoke masks his usual scent. His family rushes towards them when they reach the grass a good distance away from the house but Derek keeps away. His instincts are telling him to protect Stiles, to keep him safe. He’s not thinking clearly about who’s friend or foe. When his Mom reaches out, trying to run a hand through Stiles hair Derek growls, fangs bared and eyes bleeding red as he turns to shield Stiles from her. The only thing going through his head is _“mate, mine”_ , not allowing him to see reason. He barely notices his Mom flinch back, eyes wide in shock.

“Derek,” Stiles says, bringing a hand up to his face, “stop. It's okay. I think you can let me down now.”

“No,” Derek grits out, “it’s not safe.”

“We’re out of the house big guy. We’re with your family. The danger is gone.”

“Not while she’s still out there.”

“So, are you just going to carry me everywhere until they catch Kate?” Stiles asks, “Because that seems a little impractical.”

“I need you to be okay,” Derek says, his features shifting back to normal, his green eyes boring into Stiles’ brown ones, “I need to be sure you’re really alright Stiles.”

“I am. I’m okay Der,” Stiles runs a hand through Derek’s hair attempting to soothe the wolf, “You saved me, alright? I’m here because of you.”

“But what if I hadn’t been able to get through the barrier? I can’t lose you. I can’t…” Derek says, voice hoarse, “if anything were to happen to you I would lose my mind.”

Before Stiles can say anything the sound of sirens reach them as cars and fire trucks speed up to the house. Derek barely pays any mind, still focused on Stiles. He misses the frantic calls as the Stilinski’s make their way towards them. So when Claudia reaches them and tries to take Stiles from Derek, Derek shields Stiles from her the same way he did with his own mother, growling protectively as he flashes his now red eyes at her.

Stiles groans, burying his face in Derek's neck, “I get that you're in protective mode but can you please not growl at my Mom, Der?”

Derek glances over at the newcomers, feeling guilty when he takes in Claudia’s tear streaked face and the way the Sheriff is warily watching them, hand on his gun holster. He ducks his head, mumbling an apology.

“It's alright Derek,” Claudia says, only hesitating a moment before squeezing his hand, “I know you're just worried about Stiles.”

“So are we,” John grumbles, “and you. Care to explain how you're suddenly an Alpha?”

“He's a True Alpha,” Talia says, walking up to the group.

“Yeah but how?”

“I was trapped in the house and he broke through the mountain ash barrier to get to me,” Stiles says, looking at Derek with adoration, “he saved me.”

John looks at Derek with wide eyes, “You… you ran into a burning house to save my son?”

Derek nods, “I did.”

Claudia is on them in an instant, wrapping both Derek and Stiles into her arms as she hugs them fiercely, “My boys.”

The Sheriff watches the scene for a moment, debating whether he should try and take Stiles from Derek. He'd like to hug his son but he knows how protective Derek can be of Stiles on a normal day. He knows that must be heightened right now. Claudia must sense this because she quickly pulls John into the hug.

They pull back after a moment, John squeezing Stiles’ shoulder before turning to Talia, “Do you have a place you can stay?”

Talia looks over at her husband who is talking with the fire chief before turning her attention back to the Sheriff, “We could stay with Peter but I think this would be a good time to go visit Laura in New York.”

Derek growls at this, “I'm not leaving Stiles.”

Talia sighs, “Derek…”

“Can't he just stay with us?” Stiles asks, looking between his parents, “he and Cora both have school to worry about.”

Claudia looks over at her husband, who shrugs, “I don't see why not. This way you won't have to pull them out of school.”

“If you're sure…” Talia says.

“Of course we're sure,” Claudia smiles, “We have the guest room for Cora.”

“And Derek can room with me!” Stiles says, grinning down at the werewolf in question, “it'll be just like old times.”

“We’ll try it,” the Sheriff says, “but if you’re not asleep at a reasonable hour on school nights _you’ll_ be sleeping on the couch.”

Stiles gapes at his Dad, flailing in Derek’s arms, who simply tightens his hold to stop Stiles from falling, “ _Me_? Why me? I mean, not that I _want_ Derek to have to take the couch. But the point is, it’s _my_ bed. And I almost died.”

Derek groans, “Really Mischief? You’re already using that to try and get your way? It’s nothing to joke about.”

“Sorry Der,” Stiles looks at Derek apologetically before looking back at his Dad, “We’ll get to bed at a reasonable hour. I promise.”

The Sheriff doesn’t look convinced but decides not to argue. It’s been a long day and he needs to pick his battles. The biggest one now being finding the person responsible for the fire and the attempted murder of his son.

When the Sheriff finds out it is was Kate Argent that started the fire and trapped Stiles in the house he wants to go hunt her down then and there. Claudia convinces him not to, telling him that his son needs him right now. John agrees, driving Claudia and Cora home while Derek and Stiles follow in Derek’s car. John wasn’t about to suggest Stiles rode with him and Claudia. He knows better than to think Derek would let that happen.

Derek pulls into the driveway not even a minute after the Stilinski’s, getting out of the car and walking around to the passenger’s side. John’s confused for a moment before he sees Derek carefully lift Stiles out of the car, cradling the sleeping boy close to his chest.

“Leave it to Stiles to fall asleep during a 10 minutes car ride,” Claudia says, smiling fondly at the two boys as John opens the front door.

Derek smiles back, “He could fall asleep during a 5 minute car ride.”

“I can hear you,” Stiles mumbles, snuggling in closer to Derek’s chest.

“If you’re awake that means you can walk yourself up to your room,” Derek says, but makes no move to put Stiles down.

“No,” Stiles whines, “I’m too tired. And you’re comfy and safe. You carry me.”

Derek sighs, carrying Stiles up the stairs and into his room. John and Claudia watch them go, Claudia smiling slightly when she hears the bickering coming from the two boys.

Later that night Claudia and John are lying in bed and John can’t seem to fall asleep. He’d almost lost his son a few hours ago. His son had been trapped in a house that was meant to go up in flames and he hadn’t been there. Claudia stirs next to him, “What are you still doing up?”

“We almost lost him,” John whispers, “we almost lost our son today.”

“But we didn’t,” Claudia reminds him, rubbing soothing circles on his hand, “he’s still with us.”

“Thanks to Derek. But where was I? I wasn’t there! My son could have died and I wouldn’t have been able to do anything to stop it because I wasn’t there.”

“John honey, if… if anything happened it wouldn’t have been your fault. How could you have known?” Claudia asks, “Today had been a day just like any other. There’s no way you could have known something like this was going to happen. None of us did. It hurts to think that my baby boy was trapped in that house alone and scared, but he got out. And he saved people. His actions saved the lives of Talia and her family.”

“I know,” John says, “and I’m glad for that. I am. But I just don’t like the idea of the psychopath that tried to kill our son running around free.”

“Then you find her,” Claudia says, voice firm, “you find her and you make sure she pays for what she tried to do.”

*

After 3 days of no leads on Kate, John is fed up. He needs to find her. That night when everyone else is asleep John sneaks out and goes to find Chris Argent. It’s not hard, he’s at home, most likely asleep.

Argent answers the door, blinking tiredly out at the Sheriff before joining him on the porch, “Sheriff, what can I do for you?”

John wastes no time slamming Chris against the front door, arm pinning him to the spot, his voice deadly calm as he speaks, "Your sister tried to kill my son. If you know where she is you better tell me. And god help me, you better not have had anything to do with this Argent or I will personally make sure you pay for it.”

Argent’s eyes widen, “John, I swear to you, I had nothing to do with the fire. I had no idea what Kate was planning. If I did, I would have stopped her.”

John eases up a bit but doesn’t remove his arm, “Do you know where she is?”

“I don’t,” Chris says, “not for certain. But I have some ideas where she might go.”

“Where do you think she is? Tell me.”

“It’s a bit out of your jurisdiction Sheriff.”

“I don’t give a damn about jurisdiction!” The Sheriff yells in his face, no longer able to keep his temper in check, “your bitch of a sister tried to kill not just my son, but my friends. If Stiles hadn’t heard her talking and warned them they’d all be dead right now. So you damn well better tell me where she is.”

“Fine,” Chris sighs, “but I’m coming with you,” when the Sheriff starts to argue he holds up his hand, “I won’t stop you. The Hales are allies, maybe even friends. I don’t like what she did any more than you do. She shouldn’t get away with it. You just need to know something.”

“What’s that?” the Sheriff asks.

“She might not have been working alone,” Chris says, face grim, “my father might have helped her plan it.”

“Well then we’ll just have to figure that out, won’t we?”

“Not without me, you won’t.” Laura Hales says, walking up to the two men.

John’s brow furrows as he looks at the younger female Hale, “Laura? What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be in New York with your parents?”

“They’re in New York,” Laura tells him, “but I couldn’t just sit there while the person who tried to kill my family is out there running free. I can’t feel safe knowing she could show up at any moment and try to finish what she started. I want to make her pay.”

“What about school?”

“I have a few days off,” Laura shrugs, “and it won’t kill me to miss a few days if I need to.”

“We don’t know how long this will take,” Chris tells her.

“Listen Laura,” John says, drawing her attention, “I know you want revenge for what she tried to do to your parents and Cora and Peter…”

“This isn’t just about them,” Laura says, eyes glowing dangerously, “it’s a little bit but it’s also about Stiles. You know he’s like a brother to me John. And she tried to take him away. I can’t let that go.”

John and Chris share a look, Chris just shrugging after a moment causing John to sigh, “Fine, you can help. However, if we don’t find her within a few days you will go back to school. _But_ I promise to let you know if we get any leads after you go back, alright? I’m not going to have you jeopardizing your education for this.”

Laura nods, “Deal. Now where do we start?”

It only takes a day and a half for them to get a location on Kate. Chris calls around, before finally finding a way to reach his sister. She seems surprised by his call, but Chris redirects her easily. He knows the best way to gain her trust is to stroke her ego a bit. So he tells her the fire was a nice try and that she shouldn’t give up, there would be other opportunities. He has the Hale’s trust, she could use him. Even though he knows it’s all a lie the words taste bitter in his mouth. It’s far too easy, getting her to tell him she’s still in Beacon Hills and to agree to come meet with him.

She suggests meeting at an old warehouse the Argent’s used to use to sell guns. It’s long since been abandoned making it the perfect spot to meet if you don’t want to be interrupted. Chris drives up alone, needing to keep up the pretense that he’s on Kate’s side. He knows Laura and the Sheriff are somewhere in the woods behind the building, Laura using her enhanced hearing to keep an eye on things. He just hopes she keeps her cool and doesn’t coming charging in.

Chris enters the building to find that unsurprisingly Kate didn’t keep up her end of the bargain about coming alone, “I thought we agreed to meet along.”

“Now son, is that any way to greet your father?” Gerard says, looking Chris over with his usual calculating gaze, “I thought you two would need some extra help.”

This made things more complicated, but he wasn’t about to show how worried he was about Gerard being here. If he had helped Kate plan the fire in any way they needed to handle him as well. So he just crosses his arms, keeping his face carefully blank, “We could have handled it. But I’m sure your help could be beneficial.”

“I thought so,” Kate smirks, “now we need to talk about your part in this.”

“The Hale’s trust me,” Chris says, repeating the words he’d used to get her to meet with him, “I can use that to our advantage.”

“Yes yes I know. But you see, I’m no longer interested in killing all of them. Sure, that would be a bonus. But what I really want is the True Alpha and his little human friend. And you’re going to help me get them.”

Chris tries to keep his face expressionless as he feels his blood run cold. He hadn’t anticipated this, “My pull is with Talia Hale. I’m not sure how much Derek trusts me.”

“You might not need Derek,” Gerard says, “not when you have Allison.”

“Allison? What does Allison have to do with this?”

“She’s close to Scott McCall. And Stiles. She can get them all together giving us the opportunity to strike.”

“And it will get rid of your Scott problem,” Kate tells him, “it can’t be easy having your daughter be close to werewolves.”

Chris doesn't know where Kate got her information but Allison isn't as close to Scott and Stiles as she believes. In fact, she barely knows Scott at all. And while she had spent time with Stiles and Derek as a kid she hasn't hung around with them in years. He's not about to tell Kate that though. He just needs to keep her distracted. Instead he asks, "Why only Derek and Stiles?"

Kate laughs, “You really have to ask me that? Stiles ruined my opportunity to kill the Hales. And then Derek got him out of there, taking away my shot at revenge. To make it worse he became an Alpha because of it. They think they got the better of me and I’m going to make them suffer. The surefire way to make them suffer is to hurt the other and make them watch, helpless to stop it.”

Chris hears a low growl from his right, none of them having an opportunity to react before Laura is flying through the air and tackling Kate to the ground. The Sheriff follows her in, pointing a gun right at Gerard, “Don’t even think about moving.”

Laura’s still growling low in her throat, a hand around Kate’s throat. She doesn’t seem to want to let go even as Kate struggles to breathe, “You really thought you could hurt my family and get away with it you bitch?”

“You really need to control the little werewolf bitch Sheriff,” Gerard says, watching the scene in front of him, “or are you that incompetent at your job that you’ll let her murder someone and ignore it? You certainly don’t do a very good job of keeping that son of yours in line. Letting him run with werewolves.”

John doesn’t even think before slamming his but into Gerard’s head, knocking the man unconscious. He hears a startled laugh and looks up to see Stiles and Derek running towards them, “Way to go Dad!”

“Laura!” Derek says, running up to his sister, “Laur you need to stop.”

“She tried to kill our family, kill _Stiles_. We can’t just let her go Derek,” Laura says, glancing up at her brother.

Her grip still slackens, causing Kate to take in a gasping breath, “I’d do it all again. You let me go and I’ll never stop coming after you.”

“I’d like to see you do that from jail,” Stiles tells her, helping Derek haul Laura up off of Kate.

Kate smirks, “You really think some bars can stop me? I _will_ make you suffer. Both of you.”

“In case you hadn’t noticed, you’re the one in the losing position right now, not us.”

Kate bends over as clutching her side as if she’s in pain. Stiles and Derek share a look, Stiles raising an eyebrow while Derek just shrugs.

“If you think faking an injury is going to help you any…” Derek begins, eyes widening when Kate stands up suddenly a knife in her hand as she charges right at Stiles. He shifts, moving to stand in front of Stiles, not sure if he’s planning to take the knife instead or try and fight Kate off. The sound a gunshot rings out in the warehouse before a bullet hits Kate in the head and she crumbles to the ground.

Derek spins around when Stiles lets out a shaky breath, grabbing him and pulling Stiles tightly to his chest, “Jesus Stiles. This is the second time in a week. If you keep getting in danger like this I’m never going to let you leave the house.”

“And I’d fully back him,” the Sheriff says, walking up to the two boys, pulling Stiles in for a hug when Derek reluctantly lets go, “almost losing you twice in one week isn’t good for my heart son.”

“Yeah well it’s not fun for me either,” Stiles says, patting his Dad on the back, “maybe things will calm down again now.”

“I hope so,” Laura says, taking her turn at hugging Stiles, “I can’t afford to miss any more days of school to come save your asses.”

Stiles snorts, “I’ll try to stay out of trouble so you only have to come visit on holidays.”

“Good,” Laura says, pulling back and pushing Stiles back towards Derek knowing her brother needs the contact, “I know poor Derek would go crazy if something happened to you. Probably turn feral and we’d never get him back.”

“Well we can’t have that happening,” Stiles says, allowing Derek to nuzzle into his neck. He’s been around werewolves long enough to know when they need to scent and touch, and this is definitely one of those moments. Not that he minds, he needs it almost as much as Derek.

“Not to ruin the moment,” Chris says, awkwardly standing off to the side, “but what are we going to do about Gerard?”

“I’ll take him into the station,” John says, “Hopefully I can get some conspiracy to commit murder charges to stick. And Kate…?”

Chris glances at his sister. He knows he should feel something but right now he just doesn’t. The woman lying dead on the ground was almost a stranger to him. Someone who wanted to hurt innocents just because they were different. And she was willing to use Allison to do it. “I’ll take care of the body.”

“Are you sure?”

Chris nods, “Kate is my sister. It’s my responsibility. You all should get home, it’s late.”

“I’ll stay and help,” Laura says, glancing over at the Sheriff, “I know you need to be with Stiles right now. And so does Derek.”

John squeezes her shoulder, “Thank you. You’re welcome to come over after.”

Laura shows up later that night to find both Claudia and John awake, sipping cups of tea in the kitchen.

“They’re upstairs sleeping,” Claudia tells her, “would you like a cup of tea?”

The offer is tempting but Laura needs to check in on her pack right now so she shakes her head, “Thank you but I think I’ll just head upstairs.”

Claudia nods, “Of course dear.”

Laura expected to find Stiles and Derek asleep together on Stiles’ bed, she hadn’t been expecting Cora to also be there. Then again, maybe she should have. The past week has been hard on all of them. Laura slips off her shoes before quietly slipping into bed behind Derek, tucking her nose into his neck.

Derek blinks his eyes open, “Laura?”

Yeah it’s me,” Laura mumbles, feeling the day's events catching up to her, “go back to sleep Der.”

Derek releases a big yawn before snuggling closer to Stiles. They’re foreheads are pressed against each other, hands joined where they’re resting on Stiles’ hip. Cora sleeps between them. It shouldn’t be comfortable, the four of them sleeping in such a small place but to them it is. It’s what they need. They need to know they’re all safe. And at least right now, they are.

 

**Stiles 15; Derek 16**

Stiles is panicking. He had been hanging out with Scott after school while Derek was taking Cora to her karate practice when Scott started having an asthma attack. It’s not uncommon, Scott’s asthma has always been pretty bad. But this time it’s worse and his inhaler doesn’t seem to be helping. Stiles really shouldn’t have suggested they go walking around the preserve by themselves. Now they’re miles away from their cars and even the Hale’s house isn’t close enough for him to get to in time. He pulls out his phone, cursing when he can’t get any signal, all the while doing his best to keep Scott calm.

“It’s okay Scotty,” Stiles says, gripping his friend's shoulder, “It’s going to be okay. Just… God I can’t tell you to breathe. That would be a dick thing to do. But that’s what you _need_ to do. Don’t panic but I’m going to try something.”

Stiles starts screaming for help, hoping one of the Hales are nearby and can get to them. Maybe… maybe Talia can do something. As if on cue Talia appears beside him, looking worriedly down at Scott, “Stiles, what happened?”

“We were just walking and Scott started having an asthma attack. His inhaler isn’t working. He’s… it’s never been this bad. God, he’s turning blue. You have to do something!”

Stiles knows what he’s asking. He knows how Talia feels about biting humans but this is life or death. If she doesn’t bite Scott he might not… Shaking his head, Stiles looks at her with tear filled eyes, practically begging, “ _Please!”_

Talia looks down at Scott, taking his arm into her grip, “Scott, I know you can’t speak but this has to be something you want. This isn’t something you can take back. There’s a chance it won’t take. But if I don’t do this you could die. Do you want me to bite you?”

Scott breathing is labored, his eyes watery as he looks from Stiles to Talia before nodding. Talia only hesitates a moment before bringing his wrist up to her mouth and biting down.

 

Stiles quickly decides that Scott is the worst werewolf. Sure, Stiles might be biased having grown up around the Hales who are born werewolves so they figure everything out pretty fast. But Scott… well Scott doesn’t. For one, he doesn’t like to listen to the advice Derek tries to give him and keeps playing lacrosse.

When Talia finds out, she levels Stiles with a look, “I might be his Alpha but he’s your friend. You need to get him to listen.”

It only gets worse when Allison Argent comes back to Beacon Hills after a summer away. Saying Scott is smitten would be an understatement. Stiles tries to make Scott see sense, reminding him that Allison is part of a hunter family and it’s probably not smart for him to try and date her. He doesn’t listen.

It doesn’t go as bad as it could. Allison has known about werewolves since a young age, sometimes playing with Stiles and Derek. While Kate was a psychopath, Chris was much more determined to keep the peace. Chris is surprisingly supportive of Allison dating Scott. If anything, it makes the alliance between the wolves and the hunters stronger.

Scott’s a little bummed when he finds out he won’t be able to shift fully since he’s a bitten wolf and not a born wolf.

“At least you won’t get fleas,” Stiles jokes, earning himself a swat upside the head from Derek.

*

Stiles isn’t all that surprised when Derek changes back naked after shifting for the first time. Even at 6 years old he’s used to being around naked werewolves. Nudity isn’t that big of a deal to the Hales. He still looks away to give them their privacy but a naked Hale isn’t anything shocking. Especially not a naked Derek at that age. They bathed together, he wasn’t going to cover his eyes and look away. He just followed Derek inside the house where Derek grabbed the clothes his Mom had set out for him and that was that.

Stiles just feels grateful that his magic changes him back with his clothes on. Because while nudity might not be a big thing for the Hales it is for him, at least in regards to himself. He knows he ran around naked as a baby but Stiles isn’t a wolf so he doesn’t have that same carefree attitude when it comes to nudity, and other things.

As he gets older he starts wishing that Derek’s clothes stayed on him when he shifted. Especially when his teenage years hit and he starts realizing how attractive Derek is. Not just that but how attracted he is to Derek. He never allows himself to look. Always keeping his eyes above the waist or looking away so he’s not tempted. Derek might not care about being naked in front of Stiles but Stiles does care. The last thing he needs is to see too much and his body react in a way that would give him away to Derek’s werewolf senses.

It only gets worse for him when Derek bites Erica Reyes. To be fair, Stiles had asked him to do it. Erica had epilepsy and after she fell while trying to climb the rock wall in gym class because she had a seizure Stiles had taken it upon himself to talk to Derek. Derek was hesitant at first. He hadn’t turned anyone since he became an Alpha and knew what could happen if the bite didn’t take. Stiles understood but he also knew how much Erica was suffering.

Derek hadn’t said anything, he’d just grabbed his keys and his jacket and left the house. Derek shows up at Stiles’ the next day, pizza and Erica in tow.

“So, Derek tells me you’re the one that asked him to bite me,” Erica says, taking a bite of her pizza.

Stiles nods, “I did. I was just… worried about you.”

Erica smiles at him, “It is nice to not have to be constantly worrying about having a seizure. It… thank you.”

Erica is quick to pick up on the whole being a werewolf thing, much faster than Scott was. It helps that she actually listens and wants to learn control.

“So do you pick just anyone to be in your pack?” Erica asks Derek one day at lunch.

Derek shakes his head, “No. Only people that need it or deserve it.”

“The bite is a gift,” Stiles says, as if he’s repeating words he’s heard multiple times before.

From the way Derek rolls his eyes, he most likely has, “It is Stiles. Alpha’s have to be careful who they bite or invite into their pack. Just because someone wants the bite doesn’t mean they deserve it.”

“Like Jackson. He definitely doesn’t need to be a werewolf.”

“Why did you ask Erica?”

“Well I…” Erica glances across the cafeteria to where Isaac Lahey is sitting by himself, head sucked down as he slowly moves the food around his plate.

“Isaac?” Stiles asks, “Why Isaac? I thought you’d be more drawn towards Boyd.”

Erica throws a french fry at him, “Isaac has a lot of trouble at home. He doesn’t say anything but I can tell. I’m worried what will happen if he stays there and things with his Dad get worse.”

Derek studies Isaac for a moment before nodding, “I’m not saying yes. But I will keep an eye in the situation. If necessary, the Sheriff can get involved.”

“It won’t help. Deputies have investigated calls there before but his Dad has always talked his way out of it.”

“My Dad won’t accept it,” Stiles tells her, “if something is going on. If Isaac’s Dad is hurting him my Dad won’t let it go.”

Derek talks to his Mom and they agree that someone should keep an eye on the house at night. His parents and Peter keep watch during the week, while Derek takes over on the weekend. Stiles, of course, has to be there to keep watch with him. Derek doesn’t mind, he appreciates the company. It helps him stay awake.

All is clear until Saturday night. It’s around 11 p.m. when Derek hears a crash from inside followed by yelling. Derek’s making his way towards the house when he hears the sound of glass shattering from the back of the house. Derek rushes around to the back of the house and stills. Isaac is there, on his back, glass surrounding him as his Dad stands over him.

“Step away from him,” Derek growls, stalking towards the man.

The man's eyes widen, as he backs away from Isaac and then takes off. Derek wants to go after him but then he hears a groan from Isaac. He bends down next to the boy, seeing glass piercing the skin on multiple parts of his body, the worst one near his throat. Derek knows he has to make a choice here and fast. He could call an ambulance and hope they get here in time or he could bite him.

“Isaac I need you to listen to me and pay attention, can you do that?”

“Yeah,” Isaac says, attempting to nod then groaning in pain.

“Don’t move,” Derek tells him, taking a deep breath before letting his eyes bleed red, “I’m a werewolf. I’m going to give you a choice. I can try and get you to a hospital but there’s a good chance you’ll bleed out before you make it. Or I can bite you.”

“Then I’ll be like you?”

“If the bite takes. There’s always a small chance it won’t. But right now this might be the only way to save your life.”

“Then do it,” Isaac says, voice firm, “Bite me.”

Derek does.

*

Isaac has a little bit more trouble controlling his shift than Erica did. But he at least tries. After figuring out that Isaac’s anger anchors him he picks it all up much easier. He fits easily with the rest of the pack. Derek’s Mom loves him, taking him under her wing. Derek’s not even surprised anymore when he walks into the kitchen and finds them huddled together going over recipes.

Claudia often joins them too, which means Stiles often spends his time in the kitchen with them, dragging Derek into the baking whenever he can. That usually leads to a mess and Talia kicking them out of the kitchen with orders to come and clean up the mess they made once she’s done in the kitchen.

To be fair, Stiles often gets kicked out anyway because he and Isaac bicker constantly. The look on Stiles’ face the first time Talia had kicked him out of the kitchen but not Isaac was priceless. Stiles pouted the rest of the day, complaining to Derek about their Mom’s having a new favorite. Derek just laughs, saying that if anyone should be upset it’s him since his Mom had always favored Stiles. To which Stiles just replied “oh hush, she loves both of us.”

Isaac and Erica get along pretty well. Stiles says it’s because both of them can be judgmental assholes which causes Erica to laugh, “Like you can’t be one to Stilinski.”

Stiles grins, “I never said I wasn’t one.”

“And Derek?” Isaac asks from his spot on the couch.

“Derek is far too pure and good,” Stiles says.

Erica starts giggling which causes Stiles to turn around to find Derek standing there, eyebrows raised, “ _Hey Der_ ,” Stiles says, “we really need to work on you announcing yourself.”

“It’s my house,” Derek tells him, “I shouldn’t have to announce myself whenever I walk into my own living room.”

Stiles hates the way his face heats up, especially when he notices Derek is shirtless and sweating, most likely just finishing a workout. He closes his eyes and tries to think of anything but Derek, willing his body not to react to Derek’s presence. It’s easier said than done, he’s always hyper aware of Derek. It’s only gotten worse as he’s gotten older and started realizing his feelings for Derek weren’t strictly _friendly_. Derek’s never seemed to notice, or at least hasn’t acknowledged it, and for that he’s grateful.

Erica though is a different story. Stiles opens his eyes to see Erica looking right at him, smirk on her face, “Everything alright Stiles?”

“Fine,” Stiles mutters, barely refraining from glaring at her.

“Are you sure Mischief?” Derek asks, placing a hand on his forehead. Stiles _does not_ lean into the touch, “You look a little flushed and your face is warm. Are you sick?”

“That’s one word for it,” Isaac mutters.

Sometimes Stiles really hates the betas. Derek should have bitten nicer people. He tells him as much, earning an eye roll from both Erica and Isaac and a fond smile from Derek, “You’re the one who asked me to bite them,” Derek reminds him.

“Yeah well, maybe I’m starting to regret it.”

“You do not,” Erica says, curling into Stiles’ side, “you enjoy our company.”

“We have to give you a hard time,” Isaac tells him, moving to the other side of Stiles. Stiles isn’t sure if they were as touchy feely when they were human but they certainly are now, “you’re like our Mom.”

Derek chokes on his water and Stiles blush intensifies. His mumbled “I hate you,” is met with laughter from the two betas.

Erica corners Stiles at his locker the next day of school, her face serious, “You know this would all be easier if you just told him how you felt.”

“I can’t Erica. He’s my best friend, we’ve been best friends since before we could walk,” Stiles tells her, closing his locker and glancing around the hallway, “I can’t risk ruining that if he doesn't feel the same way.”

“But if he does…” Erica begins.

“He doesn’t okay? And I’m not going to lose my best friend just because I couldn’t keep my feelings under control. Now can you please just don’t it?”

Erica says, “For now. But not for good. You both deserve to be happy Stiles.”

“We are happy,” Stiles tells her, taking her arm and leading her towards their English class, “just because we aren’t in a relationship doesn’t mean we aren’t happy.”

“I know that. But just think of how happy you two could be together.”

Stiles has thought about it, and often. He imagines them holding hands, going on dates, sharing soft kissing, passionate kisses, cuddling on the couch in a non-platonic way, waking up wrapped around each other, and so many other things. Hell he even _dreams_ about having a life with Derek. Only to wake up and realize it’s not real. So yeah, he thinks about it all the time. And it hurts every damn time to think he’ll probably never get that life with Derek. Because Derek is brilliant and amazing and he could have his pick of anyone he wanted, there was no way he was going to want Stiles of all people.

But he does have Derek as his best friend, and he’s going to be his emissary one day. He will always have Derek in his life. It might not be the one that he dreams about but as long as he gets Derek in some form or another he’s happy.

 

**Stiles 16; Derek 17**

Stiles meets Theo his junior year of high school. He sees the wolf nervously hanging around outside the high school and can’t help but approach him. When he sees Stiles coming closer his posture goes rigid as he eyes Stiles warily.

“Is there a reason you’re hanging out outside the high school?” Stiles asks him, “Are you looking for someone?”

The kid nods, glancing from the school to Stiles, “I’m looking for Derek Hale.”

Stiles studies the kid for a moment, trying to look for any sign of ill intent, “What do you need Derek for?”

“Do you know him?”

“I might,” Stiles says, “it depends on what you need him for.”

“I…”

Stiles watches as the kids eyes dart around, as if he’s waiting for something to jump out at him. Stepping closer, Stiles lowers his voice, “What’s your name? Are you in trouble?”

“I’m Theo,” Theo looks at Stiles for a moment before nodding, “I just… I heard he might be able to help me.”

“Okay,” Stiles says, “Derek is my best friend. If you come with me I can take you to him,” the kid looks hesitate so Stiles tries to offer him a nonthreatening smile, “I know you have no reason to but you can trust me. And the Hales.”

Theo nods, following Stiles to his jeep. Stiles shoots a text to Derek on his way to the Hale’s telling him he has someone Derek needs to meet. Theo tells him a little bit of what happened on their way there. Stiles feels himself involuntarily gripping the steering wheel. None of the other Hales are home when Stiles get there, and Derek is waiting on the porch, leaning against the railing trying to appear intimidating.

“Derek, this is Theo,” Stiles says, motioning to the wolf next to him as he walks closer to the wolf on the porch, “He was bitten by an Alpha in Wyoming who was only turning people so he could kill the and get their power. Theo managed to escape and came here.”

“Why Beacon Hills?” Derek asks, eyeing the wolf critically, “and how did you get out alive?”

“I heard stories about the Hales. About a powerful werewolf family with a True Alpha. They said _you_ took in people who didn’t have anywhere else to go,” Theo tells him, face carefully blank, “the Alpha kept me around as some sick little game of his. He used me. He wanted me to watch as he tortured and killed the others. He told me… he said he had my sister and if I wanted to see her alive I had to do what he wanted. He used her as a way to keep me in line. I found out she was dead, had been for weeks so when he sent me out like he sometimes did thinking I was still in line I took the opportunity and ran. I didn’t stop until I got here.”

Stiles looks at Derek who nods back at him, his heartbeat was steady, “Do you think the Alpha will follow you?”

Theo shrugs, “I don’t know. He might. He didn’t have any other wolves at the time I left. He didn’t seem like the type of person to just let things go.”

“Well you’re welcome to stay,” Derek tells him, clapping a hand down on his shoulder, “if the Alpha follows you we’ll take care of it.”

“I couldn’t… I don’t want to put any of you in danger.”

“You haven’t seen these guys in action,” Stiles tells him, “plus the safest place for you right now is with a pack. You just happen to have come to one of the best.”

“How many packs do you know Stiles?” Derek asks, amusement clear in his voice.

“Enough, I mean I’ve done research. And met some of the Alphas and other wolves had have passed through. None of them have compared to you. And the pack. You _and_ the pack.”

Theo raises an eyebrow, causing Derek to laugh, “Yes. He’s always like this.”

“Hey!” Stiles calls after Derek as the Alpha starts inside, “don’t walk away from me Derek Hale.”

“I’m not walking away from you Mischief,” Derek says, “I’m welcoming our guest inside. Are you hungry Theo?”

“Starving,” Theo says, looking around the house with wide eyes, “this place is huge.”

“Needs to be with how big the pack is,” Stiles says, gesturing for Theo to follow him into the living room while Derek goes into the kitchen to make some sandwiches.

“Are you…? I mean you said you were Derek’s best friend. But you’re not a wolf?” Theo asks, following Stiles’ lead and taking a seat on the couch.

Stiles grins, “Nope. I’m human.”

“Don’t let him fool you,” Derek calls from the kitchen, “he’s more than just human.”

“How are you more than just human?” Theo asks, eyeing Stiles curiously.

Stiles doesn’t say anything, just holds out his hand until one of the sandwiches Derek just made comes flying to him.

“ _Mischief!”_ Derek growls.

Stiles laughs, taking a bite of the sandwich. He looks over at Theo to see the boy watching him with wide eyes, “I have magic.”

“That’s one word for it,” Derek says, walking into the living room and hanging a plate to Theo, “I wasn’t sure what you’d want on it…”

Theo takes the plate and smiles up at him, “This is great. Thanks.”

Theo is silent as they eat, watching the way that Stiles and Derek interact with each other. He can tell already that any annoyance might have with Stiles is an act. They’ve clearly known each other for a long time, “So why did you call Stiles Mischief?” Theo asks Derek once he’s down eating.

The two look at each other for a moment, both wearing fond smiles before Derek speaks, “That’s a long story.”

Stiles is more than happy to tell the story, which leads into more stories about their childhood. He’s in the middle of telling a long winded tale about Stiles dressing Derek up in a Christmas sweating while he was in his wolf form so he could make his own Christmas cards when two more of the Hales arrive.

Derek smiles over at his parents when they walk in, “Hi Mom, hi Dad.”

“Derek, Stiles,” Talia greets, turning her attention to Theo, “and who is this? A friend of yours?”

“This is Theo,” Stiles says, “He needs our help.”

“A rogue alpha bit him and was holding him captive while he turned and murdered other wolves. Theo managed to get away. He came here seeking refuge,” Derek tells his Mom, quickly summarizing Theo’s tale.

“Oh that’s horrible,” Talia says, looking at Theo sadly, “of course you’re welcome to stay here dear. As long as you need.”

“He’s looking for a pack Mom,” Derek tells her, “my pack.”

Talia nods, “Of course. I’m sure Erica and Isaac will love having someone new around.”

“Erica and Isaac are two of Derek’s betas,” Stiles tells Theo, sensing his confusion, “Erica had epilepsy and Derek turned her. Isaac’s father almost beat him to death.”

“We don’t turn people without a good reason,” Talia says, face grim, “that’s not the way it should be done. And the fact that someone is out there doing the things you said. Well he just better hope I never see him.”

With that she walks into the kitchen to make herself and her husband some tea. Theo looks after them, floored by the Alpha’s behavior.

“Yeah, she’s kind of badass,” Stiles says with a proud smile.

“Language Stiles!” Talia calls from the kitchen, “your parents will be over for dinner so I hope you still have an appetite.”

Derek snorts, “It’s Stiles, Mom. Of _course_ he still has an appetite.”

*

Theo starts at school by the end of the week. He’s not sure how, he missed a lot of school after he got turned but here he is, walking the halls of Beacon Hills High School. He knows Talia had something to do with it but he doesn’t really want to question _how_.

He’s a year behind Stiles so he doesn’t see much of him after Stiles leaves him at his locker to run off and find Derek. Theo’s putting some of his books away in his locker when someone slams into him from behind. He’s so startled he almost shifts but he takes a deep breath before turning around. He’s kind of glad he did because as soon as he catches sight of the boy in front of him all the breath leaves him. The boy is shorter than him and he has the most amazing blue eyes Theo has ever seen.

“Sorry,” the boy says, holding up the football he’s holding, “I wasn’t paying attention. You’re new here aren’t you?”

Theo nods, sticking out his hand, “Yeah. I’m Theo.”

“Liam,” the boy smiles, shaking his hand before gesturing the other two boys that have joined them, “and these two are Mason and Corey. Guys this is Theo. He’s new.”

“Cool,” the one Liam called Mason says, “What grade are you in?”

“I’m a sophomore,” Theo tells them.

Liam grins, “So are we! Maybe we have some of the same classes. What do you have first?”

Theo checks his schedule and groans, “Algebra.”

“So do me and Corey! Mason here is a genius and already in pre-calc.”

“He just loves math,” Corey says, smiling over at Mason.

Liam laughs when Theo scrunches his face up, “Yeah I know. He’s weird.”

“You’re one to talk, “Mason mutters.

The bell rings signaling that they need to get to class so they say goodbye to Mason and Liam leads the way to algebra. Theo hates starting schools in the middle of the year because by now everyone has their set places to sit. That doesn’t seem to be a problem this time because Liam pulls Theo down into the seat next to his with Corey taking the seat in front of Liam.

The teacher comes in and draws the class’s attention to her, “Good morning class. Before I take roll I hear we have a new face with us. Theo Raeken?” When Theo hesitantly raises his hand, she beams at him, “hello Theo. Would you like to stand up and tell us a bit about yourself?”

Theo would love nothing more than to say no, he would not like to talk about himself. He doesn’t even know _what_ he can say. Still, he stands up, feeling most of the classes eyes on him, Liam’s included and clears his throat, “I’m Theo, obviously. I’m 15. I just moved here from Wyoming. There’s really not a lot to say. I’m pretty normal.”

It’s a lie. He knows it is. He’s far from normal. But it’s the safe answer. He can’t exactly he like “Hi class. My name’s Theo. My parents and sister were murdered by a psychotic werewolf who also turned me into a werewolf and used to as a way to turn other people into werewolves and torture them.” That’s not exactly first day of class material, hell that’s not _any day_ material.

He goes to sit down when a voice from the front calls out to him, “Aren’t you staying with the Hales?”

“I am, yeah. They’re family friends.”

“What happened to your family?” the kid asks.

“That’s none of your business Gabe,” Liam grits out.

“It’s okay,” Theo tells Liam, trying his best to give him a reassuring smile before turning to glare at the Gabe kid, “if you must know, my family is dead.”

The room falls silent, everyone gaping at Theo. Then the teacher clears her throat, trying to draw the attention back to her, “Okay! So fractions!”

Theo barely pays attention to what she’s saying. He sighs and runs a hand through his hair, “I hate first days.”

He feels a hand squeeze his and looks up to see Liam looking at him, a sympathetic smile on his face, “I hear second days are better.”

Theo and Liam start hanging out a lot after that first day. Liam invites Theo over to his house to play video games, sometimes with Mason and Corey and sometimes without, and Theo happily accepts. The Hales even give Theo permission to have Liam over to hang out with the pack, making the wolves and Stiles promise to be on their best behavior when the humans are around. They all get along really well and Theo finds himself becoming genuinely happy.

Except the secrets he has to keep from Liam are weighing on him. He tells Liam almost anything, except it’s always edited. Because he’s not sure how Liam would react to finding out one of his best friends is a werewolf. He doesn’t want to risk losing one of the few good things he has in his life.

There’s also the looming threat of the alpha that turned him. Theo has been in Beacon Hills for 2 months and there hasn’t been a sign of the Alpha. That should be good news but Theo isn’t as relieved as the others are. He knows the Alpha. He knows how sadistic the man is. Theo would love nothing more than to believe he just let Theo go but he knows better. The man is out there somewhere biding his time before he comes for Theo. And the more time Theo spends here in Beacon Hills the more he’s putting these people he’s come to care about at risk.

Theo is on his way to meet Liam at his house and can’t shake the feeling that something is wrong. He’s not sure what until he gets to Liam’s and notices his front door standing wide open. Liam is supposed to be the only one home. His parents are out of town for the weekend and Theo was going to stay with him. Liam wouldn’t leave the door open. He walks closer, his heart pounding in his chest as he tried and fails to pick up on Liam’s heartbeat. Liam isn’t here but… he catches a scent and his blood runs cold. He knows that scent. He’s had nightmares about it. _The alpha_.

When Theo rushes inside nothing seems out of place. The furniture is still in place, nothing is broken. It’s the same thing upstairs except for Liam’s room. On Liam’s bed is a piece of paper with blood on it. No… it’s _written_ in blood. Liam’s blood. Saying only one thing

_“You want him? Come get hm.”_

Theo can’t stop the pained howl that escapes him. Across town another howl sounds, that of Derek, his real alpha. His phone rings a second later. Theo is tempted not answer it. He knows Derek will try and stop him from going after the Alpha. But he also needs help.

Answering the phone Theo doesn’t give Derek a chance to say anything, “Derek, the alpha is here and he has Liam.”

There’s a moment of silence before Derek speaks, voice far too calm, “Where are you?”

“I’m at Liam’s. We were supposed to spend the weekend together. But I got here and the door was just left open. I could _smell_ him here. I got upstairs and found a note. It’s written in Liam’s blood. Derek I have to find him.”

“Stiles and I are on our way to you. My Mom, Dad, and Peter are searching the preserve,” Derek tells him, “just don’t go anywhere alone. Wait for us. We will find him, Theo. You just need to wait. You can’t go after him alone. That’s what he wants.”

“Damn right it is,” Theo hears Stiles say, “fucking psycho. We’ll get to him Theo. Don’t worry.”

Theo walks downstairs to wait on the porch, staying on the line with Derek, needing the contact, “Do you think he’s still alive?”

“I do,” Derek says, “he wants you to find Liam alive. That’s why he left you the note. You know this alpha better than anyone, do you really think he’d just kill Liam?”

Theo sighs, running a hand through his hair, “No. He wants to hurt me. He must know Liam is the way to do that.”

“I’m sorry Theo. I know what it’s like to have some psychopath use the people you care about against you,” Derek says, voice sad.

Theo can swear he hears Stiles growl in the background before he speaks, “But we always stop them. This time won’t be any different. We’re close. Be ready.”

Sure enough, not even a minute later Stiles’ jeep pulls up in front of him. They both hop out and Theo walks up to meet them. Derek squeezes Theo’s shoulder, “Do you have any idea where he’d take Liam?”

Theo shakes his head, “He doesn’t really know this town so he’s not going to have a place he’s fond of.”

“This isn’t about places he likes,” Stiles tells him, “this is about you and Liam.”

“If he’s not here he went somewhere you and Liam spend a lot of time at,” Derek tells him.

“I think I know where he is,” Stiles groans, drawing the attention of the two wolves, “the high school. That’s where they met and spend a lot of their time together.”

They drive there, Theo hoping that Stiles is right and they find Liam here. He’s anxious about the condition they’ll find Liam in and the things the Alpha must have been telling him, but right now Theo just wants to find him alive. When they get to the high school Theo knows this is the place, “They’re here. I can smell it.”

They slowly walk into the school, knowing the Alpha must know they’re here. Theo knows he’s been listening, waiting for Theo to show up. Theo’s heart drops when they turn a corner and he sport Liam, hunched against one of the lockers, _his locker_ , Theo realizes. Of course the asshole would be sadistic enough to bring Liam to Theo’s locker.

Theo rushes towards Liam, ignoring Stiles and Derek calling after him. He knows the Alpha is here, watching, but he needs to check on Liam.

Liam looks up at him when Theo kneels down beside him, “Theo… you came.”

Theo nods, taking Liam’s hand in his, “Of course I did.”

“You shouldn’t have,” Liam tells him, eyes wide and afraid, “Theo he wants to hurt you.”

“I know. But I also know what he’s capable of and I couldn’t leave you with him,” Theo looks over his shoulder to see Stiles and Derek watching them, “we need to get him out of here.”

“Did you really think it would be that easy?” A voice asks from down the hall. Theo looks up to see the Alpha approaching, amusement clear on his face as he look between Theo and Liam, “did you tell him what I did to you Liam? No. Well go on. Tell him.”

Liam’s brow furrows as he looks between Theo and the Alpha, “He bit me,” Liam rolls up his sleeve to show them, “why did he bite me?”

Theo growls, jumping to his feet, feeling his features shift, “You _aren’t_ taking him.”

“If the bite takes he’ll need an alpha,” the man says, “ _You_ aren’t an alpha. And surely your little alpha friend here doesn’t want to take on even more responsibility at only 17.”

“I will if I need to,” Derek says from behind Theo, “he’ll have a pack. But it won’t be you.”

The Alpha smiles, “that’s sweet that you think you have a say in this Derek Hale. But this is between Theo and me. If Theo doesn’t want me to be Liam’s alpha well, he’s just going to have to be.”

“But you just said…” Theo begins, then realizes what he was implying. What this was all about. “I’m not killing anyone.”

“Not even to ensure Liam’s safety?” the Alpha asks, voice taunting as he glances at Liam.

Theo doesn’t follow his gaze. He doesn’t want to see the look on Liam’s face. Everything he’s been hiding is out in the open. Liam knows and Theo can’t bear to see his reaction to it all. At least not right now when he needs to focus.

“Theo isn’t a killer,” Liam says, surprising Theo with the ferocity with which he speaks. Theo forgets all about his inner battle and looks at Liam. He doesn’t see fear or disgust, but trust.

It’s not until he sees Liam’s eyes widen and hears a panicked “Theo!” from Der that he realizes his mistake. He’d looked away from the Alpha. He turns back around but it’s not fast enough. The alpha swipes at him, ripping his shirt and his chest open with his claws. He hears movement to his right, but shakes his head, a silent warning for Liam to stay down.

‘How can you protect Liam if you can’t even protect yourself?” the Alpha asks, swiping at him again.

Theo is prepared this time, reaching up to catch his arm before his claws can make contact. Theo raises his hand up, about to give the killing blow when Liam’s voice makes him pause, “Theo, this isn’t you.”

Theo doesn’t have a chance to say anything before the sound of gun being fired reaches him. He dives down and next to Liam, along with Derek who pulls Stiles down and under him to shield him, but the alpha doesn’t stand a chance. A bullet pierces his head before he can even turn around. A man walks towards them, gun still pointed at the Alpha even though he lays unmoving on the ground.

“Glad to see you got our message Chris,” Stiles says, grinning over at the man.

“Sorry it took me so long,” Chris says, putting his gun away once he’s satisfied the wolf is dead, “I was out with Allison. I had to drop her off at Scott’s before coming here.”

“I take it you didn’t tell her what you were doing then?” Stiles asks.

Chris shakes his head as he offers a hand to Derek, who then helps Stiles to his feet, “I didn’t. I don’t doubt her abilities one bit but this didn’t sound like something I wanted to drag her into.”

“So what did you tell her?”

“That I had a date.”

Theo startled when he feels a hand on his arm, looking over to see Liam watching him, “So you’re a werewolf, huh?”

Theo nods, “I am.”

“Am I going to be a werewolf?” Liam asks, looking down at the bite on his arm.

“If it takes,” Derek tells him, looking down at Liam’s arm before nodding, “which it seems like it will.”

Theo lets out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding, sending a realized smile towards Derek. Derek smiles back before walking over to join Stiles and Chris, giving Theo and Liam some privacy.

“I have to admit, I knew you were keeping something but you being a werewolf is a whole lot cooler than anything I could have come up with” Liam tells him with a grin.

“So you’re not mad?” Theo asks.

He starts playing with the hem of his shirt until Liam takes his hand, stilling his movements, “Of course not. I get why you didn’t tell me. This isn’t exactly a bring up over breakfast conversation.”

Theo grins, knocking their shoulders together, “What is it that you thought I was hiding?”

“I don’t know. Mason thought you were harboring a secret crush on me,” Liam shrugs, grinning over at Theo, eyes widening when Theo ducks his head, a blush covering his cheeks, “Oh my God, you are, aren’t you”

“Maybe?” Theo asks, using his free hand to rub the back of his neck, “if that makes you uncomfortable, I’m sorry. We can just forget about it.”

“Like hell,” Liam mutters.

Theo looks up at him in surprise. Before he can say anything Liam is leaning forward and pressing their lips together in a soft kiss. Theo reaches up, gripping the back of Liam’s neck and changes the angle, deepening the kiss.

“I told you!” Stiles says, slapping Derek on the chest.

“Now if only two other people I know would get their act together,” Chris mutters.

Liam pulls away with a smile, “I can’t wait to tell Mason I have a hot werewolf boyfriend.”

“You’re going to tell Mason?” Theo asks, rolling his eyes when Liam raises an eyebrow, “of course you’ll tell him about _us_. I was talking about the werewolf thing.”

“I mean yeah, he’s my best friend,” Liam says, glancing over at Derek, “it’s okay that I tell him, right?”

“Of course it is,” Stiles says for Derek, “werewolves should always have awesome human best friends.”

Derek nods, “True. That’s why I’m friends with your Dad.”

“I was talking about us you, asshole!”

Derek just laughs, ruffling Stiles’ hair, “Don’t worry Mischief, you’ll always be my best friend.”

“Damn right I will.”

 

**Stiles 18; Derek 19**

It’s late in Stiles’ senior year that he meets Paige. Derek had met her early in his freshman year and the two had become fast friends. Derek talked about her _constantly_ whenever he and Stiles would talk. Stiles didn’t think anything of it. He was glad Derek was making friends in college. Stiles knew their friendship would be just as strong when he joined him there.

Derek was only going to the local university an hour away but had insisted he live on campus to get the full college experience. Stiles hated it. He tried not to but it kind of sucked having Derek be so close but still accessible. They still talked all the time. Derek would come visit on the weekends he wasn’t busy but those weekends became less frequent as time went on and Derek got busier.

It’s not like Stiles didn’t have things to do or people to spend time with. He still had Isaac and Erica around. And Erica’s boyfriend Boyd. Derek had bitten Boyd a few months before he left for college when Boyd and Erica had come to Derek together to ask him. Derek had been hesitant at first but Boyd seemed calmed and clear headed about. After spending some time talking to Boyd Derek had agreed and the pack had gained one more.

Stiles enjoys spending time with Erica and Boyd, they were great. It’s just that when they were together they couldn’t keep their hands off each other which often led to him having to awkwardly leave the room. It was like a more handsy version of Scott and Allison and Stiles just did not want to deal with it. He hangs out with Isaac sometimes too and by that extension Cora. Those two weren’t dating but Stiles could tell there was something going on there. Isaac was probably just worried about upsetting Talia. Something told him that Talia would be elated if Cora and Isaac started dating. She already doted on Isaac.

Stiles also spends some time with the younger betas. But since Theo and Liam and Mason and Corey are also coupled up that usually leaves him the third or fifth wheel. Which is fine until they start getting all cuddly and cute. It’s usually Theo and Liam. They can’t seem to keep their hands off of each other.

Stiles can’t fault any of them for it. If he had someone like that he’d probably be all over them too. _If you had Derek,_ his mind unhelpfully supplies.

So Stiles finds himself hanging out with Malia a lot. After 7 years of living with Peter she’s adjusted quite well to being a Hale. The first year was rough but once she realized the Hale’s only wanted to help her and have her be part of the family she’d come around. It took her until last year to call Peter Dad, that title still reserved for her adoptive father. Peter seemed to understand, taking whatever Malia was willing to give them. Slowly the two started to bond though. Malia even babysits her little sister Grace.

Stiles is usually there with her. Sometimes he’ll shift into a fox or Malia into a coyote Even though she’s 13 now, Grace still seems to enjoy it. She managed to do her full shift when she was 10 so Stiles, Malia, and Grace sometimes shift and go on walks through the preserve, making sure not to stray too far from the house. Stiles is 18 now, it’s not like he has to fear the repercussions of going too far. He stopped doing that in his early teens. Talia and his Mom can’t exactly threaten to separate him from Derek, life already did that. He’d like to think he’s handling it a little better now than he did before but he’s not so sure.

He has all these people around him that care about him but he still can’t shake the loneliness. Some days are better than others, he’s able to get up, go to school, and live his life. Other days it’s crippling, making it to where he can barely move. Like today. He tries getting up and going to school but he’s in actual physical pain that he has to leave at lunch. He doesn’t understand it.

His Mom is there when he gets home, looking at him worriedly when he walks into the house. He’s surprised he was able to drive home. She walks up to him, placing the back of her hand against his forehead, “What’s wrong sweetheart? Are you sick?”

“I don’t know,” Stiles says, clutching at his chest, “it hurts. Can teenagers have heart attacks? I asked the nurse but she just looked at me like I was crazy and told me there was no way I was having a heart attack. But maybe I should…”

“I doubt it’s a heart attack Mieczysław.”

“Then what is it?” Stiles hates how his voice comes out like a whine. He’s never been stabbed but he imagines this is what it feels like. He tells his Mom as much.

“It doesn’t hurt all the time?” Claudia asks, walking over to Stiles, running a hand through his hair.

Stiles shakes his head, “It’s anywhere from a few days a week to every few weeks. I never know when it’s going to happen. It’s just…”

“Just what?”

Stiles sighs, “It seems to happen whenever I’m really missing Derek. But that… do you know something?”

Claudia gives him a sad smile, “You should call Derek. I’m sure he’d like to hear from you. I’ll make you some tea. It’ll help you relax.”

Stiles watches her walk into the kitchen feeling more confused than ever before taking out his phone to call Derek. Derek picks up the phone almost immediately and Stiles can swear he almost sounds relieved, “Mischief.”

“Hey Der,” Stiles falls back onto the couch closing his eyes.

“Shouldn’t you be in class?” Derek asks. Stiles can hear him moving around, getting more settled.

“I had to leave early.”

“What? Why? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Stiles says, absentmindedly rubbing at his chest, surprised to find it’s not hurting as much. “I’m feeling better now, really. But I was in a lot of pain. It’s happened before. I don’t know why. I think Mom knows more than she’s telling me. She just told me to call you. Which reminds me, aren’t you supposed to be in class too?”

Stiles hears Derek take a few deep breaths, “Yeah I… I had to miss today. I wasn’t feeling well either.”

Stiles frowns, wishing he could see Derek. He was always able to read Derek whenever he was looking at him, “Hold on. I’ll call you back.”

Stiles doesn’t give Derek an opportunity to respond before he hangs up the phone and immediately video calls Derek.

Derek picks up on the second ring, his brow furrowed in confusion, “Is there a reason you had to hang up just to call me again?”

Stiles shrugs, “I wanted to see you. I was starting to have trouble remembering your face.”

Stiles can see Derek’s lips twitch even as he rolls his eyes, “I doubt that but I missed seeing you too Stiles.”

Stiles grins, “I know. It must be hard not seeing this face every day.”

It’s meant as a joke but Derek’s face goes serious, “It is.”

Stiles just stares a moment, taking in Derek’s stubble. It’s been awhile since he shaved. “I…” Stiles takes a deep breath and tries again, “it does both ways big guy. I miss you.”

Derek’s face softens, “I miss you too. I’ll try and come visit soon.”

“You better.”

They talk for about 20 more minutes before Derek has to go, telling Stiles he thinks he feels well enough to go to his last class of the day. It’s only after they hang up that Stiles notices how much better he’s feeling. He starts putting the pieces together that day. Realizing that his pain was related to missing Derek. He still doesn’t know the full extent of it and his Mom refuses to tell him. He’s not about to ask Derek. He’ll just have to try and get Derek on the phone more.

*

It’s a couple months before Stiles’ graduation when he drives up to the school to take an official tour of the campus. He’d been there before a few times, once to help Derek move in and then a couple more to visit. He took one of his campus visiting days from school and drove the hour to the school. He told himself he was doing it for academic purposes but everyone knew he just wanted to see Derek. And sure that was a big part of it.

Derek had grinned happily when Stiles told him he was planning to come for a visit, even checking over his calendar to let Stiles know the days he was free so they’d be able to spend time together. He chose a Friday to visit just so he’d be able to have a few extra days with Derek.

Derek greets him with a hug, pressing his nose against Stiles’ neck and inhaling deeply. Stiles knows it’s been hard for Derek being away from the pack. Even though they talk regularly it’s not the same as being able to be in their space. Laura said something similar when she came back from New York once and all but tackled Stiles to the ground.

Derek sighs, running his nose along Stiles throat, “I missed you.”

“My neck? Or me?” Stiles asks with a laugh.

“Both,” Derek pulls back with a grin, ruffling Stiles’ hair, “you’ve let your hair grow out.”

Stiles shrugs, “I decided to try something different.”

“I like it,” Derek tells him, “Now I know you have to actually do the campus tour that’s scheduled for you. It’s at 2 right?”

Stiles nods, “Yeah. The same time as your history class. I made sure of it.”

“Good. Let’s grab some lunch first and then I’ll walk you over.”

Derek takes Stiles to his favorite sandwich shop, the same one he takes him to every time he visits. Stiles doesn’t mind. He’s grown to love it almost as much as Derek. They eat and talk, conversation coming easily for them. When they’re done Derek walks Stiles to where he’s supposed to meet for the tour, giving him a brief hug before walking off towards his class.

A few hours later Stiles walks towards the spot he agreed to meet Derek. The tour had actually been pretty informative and it left him feeling even more excited to go to school here. Sure, Derek being here was a big factor but he also loved the school. They had an excellent criminology program that he was interested in and aid him if he decided to become a deputy, which he planned to.

Stiles smiles when he sees Derek leaning against one of the pillars by the walkway they’d chosen for their meeting spot. It drops a little when he sees a girl with long black hair standing in front of him, head thrown back, laughing at something Derek said. Derek smiles, shifting his head slightly in a way that Stiles knows means he’s scenting the air. Sure enough, a second later Derek glances over, catching sight of Stiles. Derek’s smile widens as he waves Stiles over.

“Stiles, this is Paige,” Derek says, grinning down at the petite female in front of him.

Stiles feels his heart constrict at the way the two look at each other, trying to smile and greet the girl. He knows Paige. He’s heard all about Paige. He just never pictured this. The girl in front of him is beautiful. No wonder Derek can’t stop talking about her. He’s… Derek _likes_ her. This shouldn’t… he should have known something like this was going to happen. Derek’s nineteen. Of course he’s going to start dating. Realistically it should have happened sooner but Derek had never seemed interested. It was only a matter of time before someone caught his interest. Stiles just wished it didn’t have to hurt so much.

Making some excuse Stiles takes his leave, ignoring the way Derek calls after him. Stiles isn’t sure where he’s going. He was supposed to stay with Derek but he can’t exactly go back to Derek’s apartment right now. So he just walks, thinking maybe he’ll go to the coffee shop a few miles away and then he’ll figure things out. It’s not _that_ far, there’s no reason he shouldn’t be able to make it fine walking. That is until it starts pouring rain. The universe must really be against him today. Sighing, Stiles ducks his head. Today just isn’t his day.

That point is proven when Derek pulls up next to him in his Camaro, looking at Stiles like he’s supposed to get in. He doesn’t. He starts walking again, a bit surprised when he hears the slam of a car door and then feet behind him. He’s not surprised Derek would come after him, Derek just hates the rain.

“What the hell Stiles?” Derek says, grabbing Stiles by the arm to pull him to a stop, “where do you think you’re going?”

“The coffee shop,” Stiles says, refusing to look at Derek, “at least I _was_ until you decided to stop me.”

“I was trying to give you a ride,” Derek points out, “in case you hadn’t noticed it’s raining.”

Stiles chances a glance at Derek to see him looking at Stiles like the fact that it’s raining should be significant to him. It really isn’t, “And? I was trying to get away from it,” when Derek snorts, Stiles glares, “what? What’s so funny?”

“ _Stiles_ ,” Derek says, fondness clear in his voice as he steps closer to the younger boy, “ _you’re_ the one that’s making it rain.”

Stiles gapes at him, “That’s ridiculous! I’m not even doing anything.”

“Have you even bothered looking up?” Derek asks, gesturing towards the sky, “it’s only raining right here.”

“So? Sometimes it rains it small areas. That doesn’t mean it’s my fault.”

“It didn’t move, except when you did. It _followed_ you,” Derek says, pointedly looking at the clear patch of sky a few feet away, “Now, is there any reason why you would make it rain?”

“I…” Stiles thinks about it, embarrassed by the answer he gets and not about to reveal his thoughts to Derek. He looks over Derek’s shoulder at the Camaro and just now notices it’s empty, “where’s Paige?”

Derek narrows his eyes, “ _That’s_ what you’re asking about right now? Paige met up with a friend. They’re supposed to hang out. Which you would have known if you hadn’t taken off. Why _did_ you take off?”

Stiles is tempted to break Derek’s gaze but he doesn’t, the last thing he needs is to give himself away. Above him, the sky lights up with lightning, causing Stiles’ eyes to widen and Derek to eye him curiously. Seriously? He’s making it lightning now? He _really_ needs to talk to his Mom. Or Deaton. Or both, “I just thought you two might want some time alone,” Stiles says, the words sounding sour in his mouth. He really isn’t liking this side of him. Especially since his jealousy apparently causing _storms_. Talk about wearing your emotions for the world to see. He’s just lucky Derek hasn’t figured it out yet.

“Why would…” Derek sighs, glancing up at the rain and then back at Stiles, “Seriously Stiles? Can’t you stop this? We’re both getting soaked. Which won’t do anything to me, but you could get sick.”

“I don’t know how to stop it,” Stiles mutters, ducking his head in embarrassment, as rain drips down from his hair and into his eyes.

“I’m sorry?” Derek steps closer, lifting Stiles’ chin to make him meet his eyes, “I didn’t catch that. Did you say you don’t know how to stop it?”

Stiles wants to answer but Derek is so close, looking at him so intently. How can Derek not see effect he has on Stiles? Granted, Stiles is _glad_ , he doesn’t want to make things weird between them because he couldn’t keep his stupid feelings under control. Speaking of under control, they’re making themselves painfully obvious right now, at least to him. At least the rain has seemed to slow down a bit, but there’s no way of knowing when it will stop, “I don’t. I didn’t even know I was the one causing it, remember? It just happened.”

“How though?” Derek asks, still not moving his hand from Stiles’ jaw, in fact he’s started stroking it with his thumb. Stiles is torn between wanting to pull away and push further into the contact. He settles for not moving, except to shrug in response to Derek’s question, “you’ve never done something like this before, at least something this big, without realizing it.”

“Mom warned me,” Stiles says, looking from Derek’s hand up into his eyes, seeing Derek’s own eyes track the movement. Stiles tries to control his breathing, his heart, his everything. This close there’s no way Derek wouldn’t be able to figure it out, “she said my emotions might start having an effect on my magic. Make it act out. It hadn’t yet, until…”

Stiles stops, noticing the winds pick up slightly along with his breathing, Shit. He really needs to get out of here, and quick.

When he tries to back away, Derek puts a hand on his hip to stop him. It’s not strong, but firm enough for Derek to keep Stiles in place, “Your emotions? About me?”

Stiles nods, helpless against the intensity of Derek’s gaze. He’s really not sure what’s going on here. Stiles feels himself give an involuntary shudder when Derek leans in close to his neck, inhaling deeply.

“Oh god…” Derek’s eyes snap up to meet his, and Stiles feels his heart race when he notices they’re red, “Derek…”

Derek closes his eyes, burying his face in Stiles neck, his breathing ragged, “ _Stiles_. You need… I need you to tell me what you feel. Because if I’m reading this wrong…”

“You’re not,” Stiles breathes out. Derek doesn’t even need to clarify, Stiles just _knows_. And Stiles is feeling like the biggest idiot right now. Maybe he’s been just as oblivious. Right now, he can only focus on the way Derek seems to be placing small kisses along his collarbone. His heart stutters at the groan Derek makes when Stiles’ head falls back subconsciously. They haven’t even kissed yet and Stiles feels wrecked. Hell, they haven’t even _talked_. They needed to, Derek needs to know, “Jesus Derek. I want you, of course I want you. I have for years. But it’s not just that. It’s…” Stiles takes a deep breath, his eyes flicking down to see Derek’s own eyes looking back at him, no longer bleeding red but back to their normal beautiful green color, “I love you. I’m _in love_ with you.”

“I love you too,” Derek says, voice filled with awe as he moves his face up level to Stiles’, “Can I kiss you?”

Stiles is tempted to roll his eyes at how unsure Derek sounds, as if Stiles admitting he’s in love with Derek doesn’t just scream get over here and kiss me. But he doesn’t. Instead he brings a hand up to the back of Derek’s neck, bringing their faces closer, “You damn well better.”

Derek kisses him softly, so different than the intensity of the moment before. But Stiles loves it and wouldn’t have it any other way. He knows they’ll have their intense, hair gripping kisses later. Right now he’s content with the gentle way their lips brush as they both get used to the feeling.

When they pull back they’re both grinning happily, their foreheads resting together because neither one wants to go too far. Derek does pull back after a moment, glancing up at the sky before looking back at Stiles, wide grin still in place.

“What is it?” Stiles asks.

Derek laughs happily and points towards the sky where the sun is shining brightly, “Looks like we figured out how to get it to stop raining.”

Stiles smiles, pulling Derek back towards him, only to groan and rest his head on Derek’s chest with barely contained laughter when Derek says, “you might be magic but I have magic lips.”

“Derek seriously…”

Derek just laughs, grabbing Stiles’ hand and pulling him back towards the car. Stiles stops outside it when Derek opens the door for him, “Don’t tell me you still refuse to accept a ride.”

Stiles rolls his eyes, “No, it’s just we’re kind of soaked,” to Stiles’ surprise, Derek pops the trunk and pulls out a couple towels, placing them in the seats and gesturing for Stiles to get in. “Why do you have towels in your car?”

“Can’t be too prepared,” Derek shrugs. They’re silent for most of the way back. Derek only breaking it when they pull up outside his apartment, “did you seriously make it rain because you were jealous?”

“Shut up,” Stiles mutters, getting out of the car and starting towards the apartment, leaving Derek to jog after him to catch up, “it wasn’t just because I was jealous.”

“But that was one of the reasons.”

“Derek…”

“Sorry, it’s just…” Derek runs in front of him, putting his hands on Stiles’ shoulders to stop him, “you need to know I’m not interested in Paige. I never was. I know I talk about her a lot but she’s just a good friend. Someone I could talk to about _you_ , actually.”

“You talked to her about me?” Stiles asks.

“Of course I did,” Derek tells him, taking Stiles’ hand and leading him up the stairs towards his apartment, “she only had to hear me complaining about how much I missed you before she figured it out.”

Stiles grins, following Derek into the apartment, closing the door behind him, “You really missed me huh?”

Derek turns to face him, putting his hands on Stiles’ hips to pull him closer, “I really did.”

“I missed you too big guy,” Stiles runs a hand through Derek's hair, smiling when he leans into the touch, “I can't wait to be here with you next year.”

“Hmm I can't wait to have you here,” Derek says, nuzzling into Stiles’ neck, “have our own apartment together.”

“Our own pack,” Stiles adds on, “speaking of, I wanted to ask you something.”

“Uh oh.”

Stiles swats Derek's arm, “Stop it. I'm serious.”

Derek looks up at him, “What is it?”

“I want to be your emissary.”

Derek pulls back so he can better look at Stiles, “You're already going to be my emissary, you know that.”

Stiles waves him off, “I know that. But we've always talked about later. I want to do it while we're here.”

“Stiles…”

“No listen,” Stiles says, cutting Derek off, “you're already an alpha. You have a pack. You’re here on your own. You need an emissary. And I'm ready, okay? I've been training for this since I was three and first discovered my magic. Let me do this.”

Derek looks at Stiles for a moment before nodding, “Okay. If you're sure…”

“I am.”

“And school is going to come first,” Derek says, pointing a finger at him.

Stiles nods, “Of course my Alpha.”

Derek's eyes flash red for a moment, as he stares intently at Stiles, “Mischief.”

“Never thought that name would be so fitting, huh?” Stiles asks with a grin.

Derek pushes Stiles back against the door, causing the younger man to gasp, “I really should have. You were always causing trouble.”

“You were right there with me, Der.”

“I was trying to keep you out of trouble.”

“Same thing.”

Derek rolls his eyes fondly, “It's really not.”

“I thought you liked causing mischief with me,” Stiles says, leaning in close to Derek's ear. He takes the lobe between his teeth, smirking when Derek groans. Before pulling back and dancing out of Derek's grip, “catch me if you can.”

Then Stiles is shifting into a fox and running off. Derek releases a growl before shifting and running after him. There are only so many places Stiles can hide.

*

Stiles doesn’t tell anyone back home about his relationship with Derek, wanting to wait until Derek’s with him to do it. He only has to wait a month before Derek comes back to Beacon Hills to watch Stiles graduate and spend the summer. Stiles had planned to ease everyone into it, maybe with some hand holding and cuddling. But he’s missed Derek. They talk all the time but he hasn’t seen Derek since his visit to the school.

It’s not surprising when Stiles runs to Derek the moment Derek steps inside, wrapping his arms around him in a tight hug. What is surprising is when Stiles pulls back from the hug and pulls Derek in for a very heated kiss, which Derek happily returns.

It’s not until somewhere clears their throat that the two pull back, still wrapped up in each other’s arms as they glance at the others in the room.

“When did that happen?”

“I told you!”

“You owe me 20 bucks!”

“It’s about time!”

The last one is from both John and Talia who both share small grins before looking back at the two boys.

“So not one person is surprised by this?” Stiles asks.

“Oh honey,” Claudia says, “Of course we’re not surprised.”

“Yeah you two have been pining after each other for _years_ ,” Laura says, “I’m just glad I was here to see this because there’s no way I would have believed anyone if they told me you two finally pulled your heads out of your asses.”

“Now that you know about the whole mates thing it’ll certainly be easier on us,” Peter smirks, then stares around the room with wide eyes when Stiles just gapes, “I guess that part hadn’t been discussed yet?”

“Mates?” Stiles asks, glances over at Derek who has his eyes closed and is pinching the bridge of his nose. Any other time Stiles would find it funny but right now, not so much. “Derek? What is he talking about? Wait,” Stiles turns to face his Mom, “is that why I kept feeling so off? Did you know?”

“I did,” Claudia says, looking apologetically at her son, “Talia and I figured it out when you two were young. We just… wanted to leave it all up to you. And I wanted to leave it to Derek to tell you. Which he obviously hasn’t yet.”

“I was waiting,” Derek finally says, grabbing Stiles by the arm and pulling him back outside. He walks a good distance away from the house until he’s sure none of the wolves can hear. Once he’s sure he turns to face Stiles, looking a little guilty, “I’m sorry Stiles. I planned to tell you. It’s just… I didn’t want you to be overwhelmed. We’d just gotten together. I didn’t want to throw this on you too.”

“Not even when I was _hurting_ and didn’t know why?” Stiles asks, “What about when I called you and told you I was in physical pain? Did you know then?”

“I had my suspicions,” Derek tells him, reaching out to take Stiles’ hand. When Stiles doesn’t pull away he uses the hand to pull him closer until they’re standing with their chests touching, “I wasn’t certain until after that phone call and I was walking to class and I realized that I stopped feeling bad once I heard your voice. Once I was able to see you.”

“Then why didn’t you say anything?”

“I wanted you to have the choice,” Derek says, bringing their foreheads together, “I wanted you to want to be with me because of _me_ and not because I told you we were mates. I didn’t want you to feel like you had to…”

Stiles cuts him off with a kiss, “You idiot,” Stiles mumbles against his lips, “I’ve been in love with you for years. I told you that. Probably since I was 13 and realized I was bi and attracted to you and started having a crisis because I realized I was not only attracted to my best friend who is also a werewolf and could smell things on me, but also very much in love with you. I would have been thrilled to know I was your mate. I _am_ thrilled. And while I appreciate that you wanted me to have a choice you have to know there never really was one. Mates or not, it’s always been you for me.”

“Me too,” Derek says, pulling Stiles in for a needy kiss, “God me too. I love you so damn much.”

Stiles kisses Derek again, long and slow, letting their tongues come together in a gentle dance. He pulls back, resting their foreheads together as they get their breathing under control, “I’d say we should go back but you know everyone’s going to be watching us.”

“Let them,” Derek tells Stiles, leading him towards the house and speaking a little louder than necessary, “this is our business and no one else's, including my very nosey family.”

Stiles snorts, “Subtle.”

Derek just shrugs, squeezing Stiles’ hand before they walk into the house. Everyone is looking around the room, purposefully not looking their way. Stiles rolls his eyes at how obvious they’re being, “I mean nice try but consider you’re all just staring into space and not _talking_ you only get a B for effort.”

“We at least had to make an attempt,” the Sheriff says, shrugging his shoulders.

“I told them it was pointless,” Laura tells them, “you all knew we were trying to listen. At least the ones that could.”

“Yeah because you don’t know how to mind your own business,” Derek says, glaring at his sister.

“You happiness is our business sweetheart,” Talia tells him.

“We’re just happy you two have finally figured things out,” Robert says, agreeing with his wife.

“I for one thought you wouldn’t get your acts together until you were out of college,” Peter tells them.

“I thought it would be soon,” Theo admits, from his spot curled up next to Liam in the recliner. “I could tell the first time I was around you two that something was going on. It was only a matter of time.”

“Were we that obvious?” Stiles asks, glancing around the room before his eyes land on Derek, “or was it just me?”

Erica snorts, “While you were glaringly obvious Stiles, Derek had his tells as well. You just couldn’t see them because he didn’t let you see.”

“Yeah he looks at you like you hung the moon,” Isaac says, “which given he’s a werewolf is a pretty big deal.”

“Or maybe like Stiles _is_ his moon,” Malia says, earning a few nods from the group.

Derek sighs, “Fine. Yes. Stiles is my moon. Now can we talk about something else please?”

Stiles pulls Derek onto the couch before plastering himself at his side, knowing Derek probably needs the contact. Sure enough, a lot of the tension eases from Derek’s shoulders at the touch. He looks around at the pack and feels happy. Even at a young age Stiles knew he is lucky.  That’s only became more apparent as he’s gotten older. He has so many people in his life that love and care about him, and the number keeps growing.

*

Later that night, they’re curled up together in Derek’s old room, both of them content to just lay in silence for a moment and be in each other’s presence. Stiles, of course, is thinking. His thoughts aren’t running wild like they sometimes can. Instead he’s just thinking about his life with Derek and what’s to come.

“You know we’re going to be partners in every sense of the word. First partners in crime that went on adventures together causing mischief wherever we went. And of course we’re partners in a way because you’re my Alpha and I’m your Emissary. Then when we both become deputies we’ll be partners.”

“I really don’t think they’ll let us be partners since we’re in a relationship, Mischief.”

“Shush. Don’t crush my dreams Der,” Stiles says, grinning up at him, “then most importantly we’re life partners.”

“That is the most important one,” Derek says, nuzzling into his neck.

“It is,” Stiles agrees, “because it’s forever.”

“Forever is a long time,” Derek smiles against his skin.

“Mmhmm but we get to spend it together.”

“Forever with you?” Derek brings their lips together in a slow, sweet kiss, “I can live with that.”

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, there it is. This feels a little bit like my baby because I've been working on it for months. Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it. Kudos/Comments make my day <3  
> You can find me on tumblr [here](http://tabbytabbytabby.tumblr.com/). School is a little busy but I am taking Sterek and Thiam prompts (:


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